


You & Me [ON HIATUS, SORRY]

by Daniela_is_not_amused



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Anxious Katsuki Yuuri, Christophe Giacometti & Victor Nikiforov Friendship, Christophe Giacometti is a Good Friend, Cinnamon Roll Katsuki Yuuri, Gen, Interviews, Katsuki Yuuri Is a Victor Nikiforov Fan, Long-Haired Yuri Plisetsky, M/M, Oblivious Katsuki Yuuri, Oblivious Victor Nikiforov, On Hiatus, Phichit Chulanont Is a Good Friend, Phichit Chulanont is a Little Shit, Pining Katsuki Yuuri, Pining Victor Nikiforov, Slow Burn, So beware, Some fans are also dicks, The media is shit, Victor Nikiforov Is In Love, Victor Nikiforov is Extra, Victor Nikiforov is Petty, Victor Nikiforov is a Little Shit, Yuri Plisetsky Is A Little Shit, Yuri Plisetsky Is a Katsuki Yuuri Fan, Yuri Plisetsky Swears, Yuri Plisetsky is a Brat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 01:20:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16253714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daniela_is_not_amused/pseuds/Daniela_is_not_amused
Summary: Yuuri got placed second in Skate Canada and first at the NHK Trophy Short Program. Landed a silver on the world’s, only one and a half point behind Victor. It had been a good season overall. The best in Yuuri’s career, actually. Things are looking up.Then Victor Nikiforov comes stumbling into his life, literally taking him down to the floor. Yuuri isn’t so sure that this is real life.orVictor falls head over heels for Yuuri, tries to seduce him at the World's, fails, gets drunk, falls on top of Yuuri and is dragged away by an extremely angry Yakov. His life can’t get any worse. That is, until Yuuri is asked to train and teach ballet at their Summer Athlete Development Camp for two weeks.Two weeks.He can do this.





	1. Previously On: Chaotic Stupid

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oricrow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oricrow/gifts), [WinglessCrows](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinglessCrows/gifts).



> English is NOT my first language. All mistakes are my own fault.
> 
> I'm currently in uni and working part-time so I don't have much time to update. If I take too long to post a new chapter, please do not be angry or assume that I abandoned this fic. 
> 
> Comments keep me motivated to write more (and I try to answer each and all of them)!

As Yuuri steps onto the podium to receive his silver medal, he glances over at Victor, who is smiling brightly right next to him. Yuuri never, in a million years, thought that the day where he skates on the same ice as Victor and doesn’t completely makes a fool of himself would come.

He’s still not sure if he’s going to pass out or throw up.

“You did a good job.”

“Ah!” Yuuri looks at Chris, who is now standing next to Victor with a bronze medal around his neck. He looks tired but happy. “You too! You should have won silver. Your program was really good.”

“We had very different programs, mon chéri.” Chris doesn’t shake his head but Yuuri notices the pained expression in the older boy’s eyes. “I made some mistakes, had to touch down twice. You, however, were beautiful. As you always are.”

Yuuri doesn’t blush because, well, Chris is still Chris and one cannot be friends with him without gaining a certain immunity to his charm. Above them, Victor is still smiling at the crowd, completely unaware of their presence. A few more seconds pass and they are finally told to leave the podium.

They are standing in the hallway, their coaches just behind them. Yuuri can see their names on the table through the semi-opened door and he hears the soft voices of the journalists from inside the conference room. 

He throws one last glance at Victor, who’s still around the reporters. He’s not really talking to them, just throwing some smiles and kisses and allowing them to take pictures of him, while Coach Feltsman looks like he’s going to lash out.

“Victor is a crowd pleaser.” Phichit’s voice rings inside his head and, at that exact moment, that’s the last thing he wants. “He'll take from them and reflect back their desires, making them fall in love with him, making them feel happy to see him. But he’s not happy. Not anymore, at least.”

“No! Victor is the living legend! How can he not be happy?” Yuuri recalls hearing Alex, a junior under Ciao Ciao guidance, wail out. He really shouldn’t be thinking about this right now.

“Just because you’re winning, doesn’t mean you’re enjoying yourself and just because you’re smiling, doesn’t mean you’re happy”, Yuuri recalls hearing the Thai skater argue before skating away in a dramatic fashion. 

Back then, it had pained Yuuri to think that Victor could be unhappy, even after conquering the world. Coach Feltsman, despite his grumpy demeanor, was a good coach. Even Ciao Ciao, who has been his main ‘rival’ since their skating days, admitted that. Yuuri also knows that Victor makes more money in a month than Yuuri could ever hope to earn in a year. The Russian has a long list of contracts with several high-end brands, and he was constantly working as a model. From the surface, Victor had a good life and no reasons to be sad.  
So Yuuri had ignored Phichit’s words and focused in his own life. 

But now, from up close, Yuuri can see how the smile on Victor’s face doesn’t quite reach his eyes; how his voice sounds too happy, too controlled to be natural. He can see how Victor, from time to time, rolls his shoulders and shifts his weight from one foot to the other, and Yuuri knows that it's something more than the exhaustion setting in. 

He feels like he should stop staring, because Victor might notice and Chris has definitely noticed by now, but then someone calls out his name and, before he can even think about moving, Ciao Ciao is already pushing him towards the door.

 

“It should be illegal to look that good in such a terrible suit.” Victor thinks as he looks up to see Yuuri walk into the banquet room. There isn’t quite a hush, but the noise level and the energy change as people become aware of his presence.

“It’s only natural, I suppose.” He grants, in the privacy of his own mind, where Yakov can’t hear him. “The ‘Japanese Underdog’ almost beats the ‘Russian Living Legend’.”

Chris, who’s a lucky bastard and doesn’t has to deal with old, boring sponsors, walks towards him with an open smile.

“Cutie Alert!” The Swiss skater grabs at Victor’s waist and steals his glass of champagne.   
Yakov is finally done with whatever sponsor he was talking to and notices Yuuri for the first time. The Japanese skater is standing next to his coach and Yakov grumbles something at their general direction before turning to yet another sponsor. 

Victor knows he should give them his undivided attention too, but Yuuri is right there, looking all cute with his big blue glasses and his shiny hair (“Gosha, did you see his hair? So shiny and cute! I bet it’s so fluffy!”) and Victor has a hard time even remembering his own name.

Victor watches as the other skater is approached by several sponsors. He seems a bit uncomfortable, like he wants to run away and hide and Victor recalls hearing Chris mentioning that Yuuri gives ballet classes to help support the expenses. 

‘Maybe he never had to deal directly with so many sponsors before’, Victor muses.   
“Victor, are you- Victor!”

“Yes, Yakov?”

He knows that the only reason why his ears aren’t bleeding by now is because the room is full of strangers that wouldn’t appreciate Yakov’s vocal methods of training and educating his skaters.

He also knows that Yakov has no problem with calling it an early night and making him go to his room as soon as the sponsors are done with him.  
Decisions, decisions.

“Are you even paying attention?” Yakov growls and Victor notices that the vein in his forehead is growing more prominent with every word. Maybe he should take Yakov to the doctor and have it checked out. Maybe Victor should make sure that he doesn’t have any ugly veins like that one.

“I’m always paying attention, Yakov.” He shoots back before downing yet another glass of champagne that he stole from a nearby waiter.

“To a certain Japanese skater, to be more precise,” Mila pops up in between Yakov and Victor, pushing Chris aside. She looks absolutely delighted and Victor is starting to regret ever telling them about Yuuri. It was more fun when Mila only made fun of Yuri’s crush on Yuuri and not Victor’s.

“His suit is terrible,” Georgi oh-so-helpfully points out. “He looks different, like this. His glasses suit him.”

“I know!” Victor agrees enthusiastically and Yakov does all he can to not hit him across the head. “Have you seen that horrendous tie? It won’t do. I’ll burn it as soon as I can get it off his neck.”

“Already talking about stripping Yuuri naked, mon chéri?”  
Chris can be a cruel man. Victor, as his best friend, knows this better than anyone. Still, he falls for his antics every single time.

“Are you done with the sponsors?” the Swiss asks, looking smugly at Victor. Has Victor mentioned that Chris is a cruel man?

“Yes.”

“No.” Yakov growls a little bit louder this time and Mila has to bite back a laugh. Victor would be offended is he wasn’t too busy paying attention to the way Yuuri smiles.

“Good.” Chris snaps him, quite literally, of his trance, asks for a refill, and drags Victor towards Yuuri before Yakov can get another word in. Chris is also a very efficient man.

Yuuri is still talking to sponsors and, as soon his coach sees Chris walking towards him with Victor in tow, the older man excuses himself and meets them halfway. Victor practically whines when he realizes that he’s still too far away from Yuuri and that his coach is standing at the perfect angle in order to block Yuuri completely from their view. 

“Mr. Giacometti, Mr. Nikiforov,” his voice is strangely melodic, Victor notices, and he looks like he’s about to call security on them for trying to disrupt Yuuri. “Congratulations on your medals tonight.”

“Coach Cialdini, thank you.” They offer, but it does little to appease him.

For a moment, they stay like that, watching each other in silence, waiting for someone else to do something, but, soon enough, Chris sees the sponsor that was talking to Yuuri walk away, and takes the chance to leap at the skater. Celestino never stood a chance.

“Yuuri, my friend!”

Chris isn’t subtle. He never has been and he never will be. People just have to get used to his antics. So, when he loudly announces his presence and grabs at Yuuri’s butt, all that the Japanese skater does is shoot him a mildly grumpy glance and step back a little. 

“We was just talking about your medal! You were amazing, was he not, Victor?”

Victor, for all his worth and fame, sucks at seducing people he actually wants to seduce. He can play pretend, he can woo a crowd, but, when he’s face to face with the man he’s been pinning for weeks now, he is a disgrace at flirting with people. He takes too long to answer and, by the time he does, it comes out as a forced compliment.

“Yes. Congratulations, Yuuri. You did well.”

Yuuri flinches a little and, next to him, Cialdini looks like he wants to drag his skater away from Victor and Chris’ madness.

“Thank you. Now, if you excuse me, I need to make a phone call.”

 

Chris swears by all gods, all deities, all the starts in the sky that he did not intend to scare Yuuri away, causing Victor to mope the rest of the night and end up smashed on champagne, of all things. It might sound like something he would do (well, except for the scaring Yuuri away part. Chris is Yuuri’s friend and he would never do that to a friend), but he swears he didn’t mean to.

Still, Yuuri had left the room for most of the night and Victor had spent the entire time whining about his broken heart and drinking glass after glass, not giving a damn about Yakov’s complaints. 

It was around midnight when Yuuri walked back in, smiling a little, and still clutching his phone in his hand. He was talking Celestino and he seemed much more calm.  
Chris, to this day, still hasn't figured out what happened. One second Victor is crying in the dance floor loud enough for everyone to hear, and, the next thing Chris knows, he's jumping towards Yuuri. 

Yuuri.

Who has his back turned away from him.

Yuuri.

Who has no idea that Victor intends on grabbing him and pull him into a dance.  
Time seems to slow down and Chris tries to scream out for Yuuri but it's too late. The Japanese skater does, in fact, turn around, only to get a face full of Victor, who trips on thin air and they both fall down to the ground.

Chris and Celestino are the first to get to them. The coach tries to help Victor up from Yuuri’s lap but the Russian is too stubborn, too drunk to let go and only clings more to the body beneath him. Chris tries to pull him away but Victor pushes back and, before anyone can do anything, his arm swings and the empty champagne glass in his hand collides with Yuuri's head. The sound is quite sickening and the Japanese Skater cries out in both pain and surprise, letting himself fall backwards once more.

After that, it felt like the spell had been broken, and everything was playing on fast forward. Yakov sprints past them and pulls Victor from the ground, who is in shock from what just happened while Celestino asks for space and for a first aid kit and the waiters start running around, trying to keep anyone else from getting hurt with broken glass.

Yuuri is conscious, even if a little confused. He is helped up and Celestino takes him away without any other word. The entire room is silent and even the music had been cut off. Yakov, already on their side of the room, is grabbing Victor by the arm and barking out promises of terrible punishments.

Chris tries to get closer to Victor but his own coach approaches him and forces him to walk away. He tries to protest but Joseph is adamant. The skater shoots a pleading look to Georgi and Mila before following his coach to the elevator. He could only hope that both Yuuri and Victor were okay.


	2. Confrontation (Doesn’t) Scares Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: Eunho is my OC. We'll later (as in... the next chapter?) find out more about about him and his relationship with Yuuri. He's going to have kind of an important role in this story, despite not actively being here as much. 
> 
> Second quick note: I know that most (if not all) boot camps for skaters only last 2 to 3 days in real life but, in order for us to have some pure Victuuri moments, I need more time. So, here it is. A super special, super unique 2 weeks long event.
> 
> Final note: Yuuri is very much an unreliable narrator. His anxiety and self-esteem issues make him over analyze every single situation and think that other people think certain stuff about him that aren't true. This entire fic will be based on this. So keep this in mind while reading it.

**July 30th, 2014 - Detroit, USA**

Yuuri trudged up the steps to the entrance of the ice rink. It was a quiet night in this part of the city and Yuuri found it relaxing. The warm air breezing through the trees, around his head, making his damp hair move slightly.

The skater moved almost automatically, his hand reaching for the light switch even before the door was completely closed behind him. Yuuri went on ahead on his merry way to the back rooms, where his kingdom, as Phichit called it, was.

The small, barely used ballet studio stayed empty, dark and dusty for years until Yuuri came along. Celestino didn’t even knew that it existed until the rink’s janitor mentioned it. Yuuri, who had just moved to America, was too shy to ask to use it so Eunho had gone ahead and asked the coach to allow Yuuri to use it. Celestino agreed immediately.

Since then, the Japanese skater managed to improve the space a lot. Eunho helped him paint the walls a nice shade of light blue and install a better, not-broken, barre and, during his second year at college, the arts department got together and replaced the old floor tile to a hardwood surface as a birthday surprise.

After almost five years of living and training in Detroit, that room had become Yuuri’s sanctuary. When things got too much, when Ciao Ciao wouldn’t allow Yuuri to stay on ice any longer or when even the library or his dorm room felt too crowded, Yuuri would just grab his ballet clothes and lock himself in there. The sound system wasn’t perfect but it was enough to keep out the rest of the world and allow Yuuri to just breathe and clear his mind.

Even before he could finish his stretches, the skater heard his phone loud ringtone from inside his gym bag. He forced himself up and rushed to the little device.

Who could possibly be calling him at four in the morning?

“Hello?”

“Hi Yuuri! Did I woke you up?” Eunho’s voice was wheezy and the background noise made it hard to understand what was going on.

“Not really. I’m at the studio. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh. Wait just a second, please.”

There was some weird interference from Eunho’s side of the call for a few seconds, the sound of a door hitting it’s frame and, finally, Eunho muffled voice greeting someone before all background noise died out.

“Is everything ok?”

“Yeah… I’m just… tired but not sleepy.”

“Can you give me a number?”

Back when Yuuri had first moved to America and his anxiety started to act up, he had explained it to Eunho, figuring it was better he knew about it before he had to witness an episode.

Surprisingly, Eunho accepted it pretty well and, together, they built a number system, something that Yuuri had never thought of doing. Whenever Yuuri felt anxious or had a panic attack, Eunho would ask him to rank it from one to ten. A level one was simply a slightly above average anxiety day and they were dealt with snuggling, hair patting and watching old videos of Vicchan in silence. A ten, on the other hand, was the worst a panic attack could be. A ten was rare and, quite frankly, dangerous.

With a bit of effort and a lot of patience, Yuuri explained him how, during level ten panic attacks, he would hyperventilate, get nauseated and dizzy and how, one time, it got so bad that he passed out completely.

In the almost three years that they lived together, Yuuri only went through one level ten episode and managing to keep his anxiety levels below level four most of the time. That single episode was, however, a turning point in his friendship with Eunho. Unlike what had happened in the past, when non-family members witnessed him at his worst, Eunho didn’t walk away. Instead, he kept himself even closer than before, making sure that Yuuri had enough space to maintain his ego unhurt while he still got the support and help he required after such a traumatic event. It was new but welcomed and Yuuri just knew that meeting Eunho had been one of the best things to ever happen to him.

“A one?” Yuuri could almost hear the relief in the way Eunho was breathing and fought back the urge to slap himself for making his friend worry about him. “It’s fine, really. I’m just still shocked from the finals.”

“You were very good, Yuuri! You should have won but silver is great too! And you finally beat Christophe!”

That had been unexpected too, to Yuuri, at least.

Yuuri had never beaten the Swiss skater in Juniors, and when he entered the Seniors, more often that not, he would dominate the Short Program, get first place, implode from the pressure, and then flunk his Free Skate.

And Chris won.

Every single time.

It was a cycle that haunted Yuuri season after season.

Until now.

“Yeah. I just wasn’t expecting it.” The older boy sounded like he was about to enter one of his ‘Yuuri is the best person ever’ campaigns so Yuuri quickly added, “Why did you call? Is everything ok?”

“Everything is fine. It was an accident, actually. I was going to text you but Josh pushed me and I hit the call button. I’m glad to hear your voice! We haven’t talked since the banquet. It’s almost like you’ve been avoiding me!”

The banquet… Yuuri didn’t even want to think about that awful night. It had been absolutely humiliating the way Chris basically had to force Victor to acknowledge Yuuri’s existence and how the Russian skater had reluctantly spit out a ‘you did well’.

‘You did well.’ Yuuri had spent his entire life looking up to Victor, adoring every single step he gave, training everyday just so he could skate in the same ice as Victor and, when he finally managed to accomplish that, all he got was a forced ‘you did well’.

‘ _It serves you well_ ’, a voice inside Yuuri’s mind barked at him. ‘ _What made you think that you are worthy of Victor’s praise? A single silver medal at the worlds means nothing. At your age, Victor already had two gold medals._ ’

And the whole falling accident… Yuuri knew that Victor hadn’t made it on purpose but the fact that it happened just came to reinforce his belief that he would never truly belong on the same ice as Victor.

“Yuuri?”

“Eh?”

“Is everything ok? It has been two days since the banquet and you still haven’t told me what made you so upset.”

“It’s-”

“If you say ‘nothing’, I’ll catch a plane to America just so I can punch you myself”, Eunho warned forcing a dry laugh out of Yuuri.

“I met Victor.” Yuuri blurted out before he could stop himself.

“Oh.”

“Actually, Chris introduced me to Victor. He... wasn’t very excited to talk to me. Which is fine! I mean, you don’t have to like everyone just because they practice the same sport as you! But when I went back in, after our call, he… just jumped on top of my back? I’m sure he was too drunk to know what he was doing and Chris tried to warn me but then… Victor accidentally hit me with his flute in the head and... I’m actually not sure what happened next.”

“What?” asked Eunho in shock Yuuri gently touched his face, checking if it was on its place because it felt like his own face abandoned him and fell off as all the hope for better life. Why did he always manage to mess things up?

“It’s fine, Eunho! It was an accident and Ciao Ciao had a doctor check me for injuries and everything is fi-”

“Everything is very much not fine, Yuuri! That Russian asshole hurt you!”

‘Great,’ Yuuri thought bitterly, letting himself slid down over the wall ‘now Eunho is worried and upset because you couldn’t keep quiet.’

“Tell me that Celestino already pressed charges!”

“What? Eunho, no! It was an accident, remember?”

“You could have gotten seriously hurt, Yuuri, remember?” The older boy shot back. “Did he even apologized?”

“Hm… His coach, Coach Feltsman, has sent an email but I told Ciao Ciao to tell them that we won’t be mentioning this again. It would be bad for his reputation if the press ever found out.”

“It would be bad for his reputation? That idiot doesn’t even has the decency of apologizing himself and you’re worried about his reputation? Yuuri, you’re too good to be true!”

Yuuri hated when people told him that. It never felt like a compliment, it wasn’t meant to be a compliment, and, no matter what his answer was, they would only shake their heads at him. Eunho knew this.

“It was an accident and we already agreed to not mention it again. It’s better this way, Eunho.”

“Fine.”

It wasn’t a real agreement, it was simply throwing an olive branch at Yuuri’s general direction in hopes of making it all better. 

“Do you wanna hear about Josh’s latest dance fail?”

“Please.”

Eunho’s voice returned to its usual soft rhythm.

Eventually, Yuuri forgot completely about his initial intention of dancing away his anxiety and found his way back to his dorm room. He ended up falling asleep just like that, with Eunho’s voice in his ear and still wearing his worn-out workout clothes.

 

* * *

 

 

**Phichit Chulanont**

[ **Photo:** Yuuri is standing shirtless in front of a mirror, struggling with his hair that is still clearly wet and slightly messy. He doesn’t have his glasses on yet and his mouth hangs open, as if he was photographed mid-sentence. The sunlight that is coming from behind him makes his skin glow like he’s in a commercial for sunscreen.]

 **Phichit Chulanont: @katsukiyuuri** and I are ready for summer. Are you?

Liked by @eunholeeyangofficial and **7, 340 others**

 

Yuuri groaned at his mobile and threw the nearest object, that just so happened to be a dirty cloth, at Phichit’s face.

“Yuuri! What the heck?!”

“What the heck yourself!” Yuuri tried his best to narrow his eyes at the younger skater but was absolutely certain that he was only managing to cross his eyes. “I knew that you had been taking pictures of me!”

He showed him the phone and watched as Phichit’s confused expression turned into a smug smile.

“It’s a good picture! The world needs to see it!” He argued, only to get a face full of dusty couch pillows. “I’m not taking it down, Yuuri! It has over 7K likes!”

He was right and Yuuri knew it. But that didn’t meant he had to like it.

“Don’t do it again.” Yuuri sighed and sat on the opposite end of the couch. He doubted that Phichit would actually stop doing it but it was the try. Phichit tried to remember whether Ciao Ciao said he’d avenge him or not.

“Eunho liked it. And so did his fans!”

“I thought you didn’t care about Eunho thinks,” Yuuri hissed, and when Phichit sputtered, continued, “I’ve seen the way you sigh or roll your eyes when he calls me.”

“I don’t like listening to him gush over you!” Phichit exclaimed. Ciao Ciao would definitely not avenge him over this.

Yuuri glared at him for a long moment before frowning. “Eunho doesn’t gush over me.”

Phichit raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him and turned his own phone towards Yuuri. “Do you wanna bet? Because that’s not what the whole world is saying…”

Yuuri had to remind himself that patience is a virtue.

It wasn’t Phichit’s fault that he’s delusional and so desperate for new gossip that he has started seeing things that aren’t there.

He’s a nice person, a good skater, a great friend.

He doesn’t deserve Yuuri to hit him in the head with their rotting coffee table.

Patience is a virtue.

“I’m not discussing this with you.”

“Because you know I’m right!”

Patience is a virtue.

Patience is a virtue.

Patience is a-

"I’m ready to go.” The Thai announced, grabbing his wallet from the kitchen counter.

“Have you signed the papers from the summer camp already?”

Right.

The Summer Camp.

That thing which Yuuri was absolutely not trying his hardest to ignore.

He must have done something suspicious with his face because Phichit turned around to face him and gave him his best ‘I promise I’m not laughing at you’ face.

“Did you forgot about it already?”

“No.” Yuuri was quick to deny. Too quick.

“Hm-hm… Well, we have to get going. I want to return this book to the library before we meet up with Ciao Ciao. You better use that time to sign the papers, or Ciao Ciao will be mad at us for stalling the paperwork.”

“Hmph”, Yuuri, eloquent as always, offered as he follow Phichit out of the dorm room.

 

* * *

 

 

They ended up stopping by the new coffee shop across the street (“Selfies with Starbucks are overdone, Yuuri! I need new content for my instagram”) before meeting up with Ciao Ciao at the ice rink. He was giving some free classes to some kids from the local middle and high school and they were told to wait in his office.

“What’s making you have doubts about going?” Yuuri looked up from his lap to see Celestino right behind him and Phichit nowhere to be seen. “Phichit went to get some ice for two of the kids that fell. He told me you hadn’t sign it yet and I was left wondering if there’s anything I could do to help you decide.”

There wasn’t.

In the end, the right decision was to accept the offer.

It was a really good offer, after all, a one in a lifetime kind of a offer.

Attending the Summer Athlete Development Camp for two weeks, learn from the best coaches in the world, teach a bit of ballet to juniors, get sponsors for the next season... In return all he had to do was do as he was told, wear the clothes and eat the protein bars they gave him and promote the brands on social media. Easy as that.

So why was he having doubts? Yuuri tried to convince himself and everyone around him that it wasn’t because the Victor Incident but he knew damn well that he wasn’t doing a very good job at it. He couldn’t admit it because if he did Celestino (and Phichit and Eunho and-) would want to go back on their accord with Coach Feltsman and getting in a public war with the Victor Nikiforov was one way ticket to a ruined career. He also didn’t want to see someone he admired and liked get in trouble because of a stupid, drunk accident.

“I… Two weeks is a long time, isn’t it?”

“It is. Two weeks of training with the best in some of the best facilities in the world.” Celestino sat down in the chair across the table before adding, “If this is about Niki-”

“It’s not.” Yuuri tried, like the bad liar he is.

“If this is about Nikiforov”, Celestino continued without even batting an eye at the boy, “I already talked to the team responsible for the schedules and the teams. Apparently Feltsman had already done the same thing and they managed to put you, Nikiforov and Giacometti in different groups and the only time you’ll have to interact is during the senior group training sessions. The coaches will be there the entire time and I assure you that, if they get too close or you get uncomfortable, all you have to do is tell me and I’ll make sure they stand back.”

That was far too much for Yuuri. Sure, he struggled with anxiety and with his self-esteem but he wasn’t a coward!

“I’m not afraid of them!” Yuuri burst.

“I’m not implying that you are, Yuuri.” Celestino claimed and frowned for a second. “I’m just trying to insure that you can enjoy this experience and have a stress-free environment so you can train and make the most of it.”

Fuck.

Now Yuuri felt like a true asshole.

Celestino, as always, was trying to help and Yuuri read too much into it, over-reacted and snapped at him like a brat.

“Fine. I’m going.”

“Yuuri, I’m not trying to pressure you int-”

“No, you’re right, Coach. It’s too good to pass. I need to make the most of my silver medal. There will be lots of sponsors looking at this, specially with all the media coverage of the final show.”

Celestino grabbed a pen from his little pencil holder and stretched out his arm to offer it to Yuuri. As the boy was reaching out to take it, he closed his fist around it, making Yuuri snap at attention.

“Phichit and I will be there the entire time, Yuuri. You won’t be alone. I need you to remember that.”

He was right.

Yuuri wasn’t going to be alone.

Phichit was going to share a room with him and Celestino was going to be in arms reach most of the time so it wasn’t like they were sending him off to war without nothing but a ‘good luck!’ sticker on his skates.

He was going to be fine.

He signed the papers without looking twice and pushed them towards Celestino before the doubts could get to him again.

The man clearly picked up on it because he sealed the envelope and hid it safely in one of his drawers where Yuuri wouldn’t dare to touch.

“Well… Phichit must be done with that ice by now. You two better get going and pack your bags because we need to be at the airport at three in the morning. Try to get some sleep while you’re at it.” Yuuri nodded dumbly and forced himself to get up.

Celestino followed him back to the actual ice part of the ice rink where Phichit was taking selfies with the no longer injured kids.

“Yuuri!” The Thai skater waved his arms like crazy, as if Yuuri wasn’t some mere four feet away from him. “Come here, we need to take a selfie for your instagram!”

“I think you took enough selfies for both of us, Phichit.” Yuuri argued and, much to his surprise, every single kid around them erupted into pleas and whines.

“I think you’ve got your answer right here”, Celestino added, fighting back a laugh.

“Fine.” The skater granted and the rink exploded in screams of joy. “One picture and then we have to go pack our bags!”

Phichit handed his phone to Celestino and grabbed at Yuuri’s hand, pushing him towards the group. There was a bit of pulling and tugging before everyone was in position and facing the coach.

“Say ‘Ice Skating’!” One of the teachers who was accompanying the students requested and, for the first time, Yuuri noticed that there was, at least, seven different phones pointed at him, besides Phichit’s.

The group complied happily and, despite Yuuri’s initial pleas, they ended up taking several pictures, including some actual selfies, each one increasingly messier and funnier than the previous one. Yuuri ended up also signing t-shirts, backpacks, notebooks and phone cases while Phichit got everyone’s instagram usernames so he could tag them properly.

“Awesome! It’s done, everyone!” Phichit announced before over a dozen phones went off with notifications.

“Yuuri, come see!” Yuuri didn’t actually have to move much besides turning his face away from the newly-signed notebook that he was holding before the other skater pushed his own phone (“When did you got my phone and why are you posting things on my instagram account without my permission? If you wrote something inappropriate I promise you I’m not making you dinner ever again”) towards his face to show him the post.

**Katsuki Yuuri**

[ **Photo:** a group of young teenagers, all dressed in skating attire, are standing around Yuuri and Phichit, who are dressed casually. Yuuri and Phichit are doing their trademark ‘peace sign’ gesture while everyone else around them is looking somewhat shocked and on the verge of tears of happiness.]

 **Katsuki Yuuri:** It was nice meeting you all! Hope **@CCialdini** wasn’t too tough on you guys!

'Ok… Not so bad.'

“It looks good.”

“I know!” Phichit smirked at him and handed him his phone back before turning around to face the students who were still staring at their phones. “Ok, guys, we have to go! Have fun!”


	3. The Circle Of Idiots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back. Why? Because I already have six chapter written and I'm just trying to re-upload everything to match the way this story was before i accidentally deleted it.

**July 26th, 2014 - Saint Petersburg, Russia**

 

Victor was curled into a ball in the farthest corner of the rink, where Yakov couldn’t get to him so easily. The skater was making pathetic whining noises, which everyone was refusing to dignify with a response since he first stepped in the facility

 

It wasn’t the first time Victor had come to the rink just to spend the entire time in “silver lump” mode, crying and whining his heart out for everyone to hear (mostly Mila, Georgi and Yakov; there aren’t many people Victor trusts enough to let them listen to his private conversations). It certainly, and sadly, wouldn’t be the last. At least, not until Victor got himself a proper chance to talk with a certain Japanese skater.

 

“Victor, it has been weeks now. You can’t keep pinning after Katsuki.” Ivan, Victor’s personal doctor, had told him once they came back from World’s.

 

(Apparently, even professional staff members enjoy gossipping about The Living Legend’s love life.)

 

“You’re too good for him, anyway!” Bianca, a junior under Yakov’s guidance, had tried her luck at helping Victor out of his misery too.

 

Unfortunately for the poor girl, Victor didn’t agree with her words, and made it very clear through a calm but harsh “Yuuri is perfect and he deserves only the best in the world, do you hear me?”.

 

The girl had run away, red as a ripe tomato and shaking like bambu in the wind.

 

As the month came to an end, they had fallen into a weird ritual: Victor would, randomly, remember the banquet, turn into a lump of pure sadness, whine for hours, stop to sing odes at Yuuri’s marvellous existence and repeat the whole process.

 

On the other hand, Georgi was running out of sappy quotes to console the older skater, Yuri was two words away of killing him and claiming Japanese Yuri all to himself and Mila was just trying to enjoy the mess while keeping Yakov sane enough to train them for the next season, with mild success.

 

In retrospective, this entire situation was probably Yuri and Mila’s fault. Not that they were ever planning on admitting it, obviously.

 

It had started back if February, when Yuri was watching a Japanese daytime talk show where Japanese-Yuri had been invited for a quick interview and to participate in some fun games. Victor, who, for reasons unclear, was hiding from Yakov, found him in the breakroom, glued to his phone and ignoring the world around him.

 

It took a lot of time and two punches in the arm before Victor learned that the beautiful man on the screen was Yuuri Katsuki, Japan’s Ace.

 

After that, there was no turning back.

 

Victor, much to Yakov’s dismay, spent the next two days gathering every piece of information he could find on Yuuri, going as far as reading all the Yuuri-centered fanblogs written in English and all the news articles written about him.

 

That proved himself to be a bigger problem than Victor anticipated.

 

Apparently, the world was convinced that Yuuri Katsuki, Japan’s Ace, wasn’t just the beautiful, dog lover, poodle owner, amazing skater, shy, clever Yuuri.

 

No, they were sure that Yuuri Katsuki, Japan’s Ace, was a player, a cruel heartbreaker that enjoyed messing around with the tender hearts of poor, unfortunate souls. They called him a cunning fox, always looking out for his next victim.

 

And, suddenly, Victor found himself not knowing what to believe in.

 

On one side, Chris was friends with Yuuri and, despite admitting that they had been as close since their junior years, Yuuri would always act shy and reserved, taking a long time to loosen up and actually have fun without overthinking every single step the gave.

 

Yuuri’s Japanese fans, the most reliable source according to Chris himself, were also constantly criticizing the media, specially the American news and gossip media, who had a tendency to portray Yuuri as this Casanova who had gone to America only to break hearts, away from his homeland’s stiff social norms.

 

Yuuri was also so polite and respectful towards everyone around him, from juniors skaters, to his fans, to even the most aggressive of reporters. He never shouted, cursed at, ignored or trash-talked them. Ever. Which, Victor had to admit, was honorable. The Russian skater couldn’t say the same about himself.

 

But then, there was all the evidence against Yuuri.

 

Yuuri, despite not been very active on social media, and only using Instagram and Twitter as his official business accounts (and, therefore, they were lacking a lot of personality and sincere, candid posts), was featured in hundreds of pictures and videos.

 

(Mila, at one point, guided Victor towards Phichit Chulanont’s social media accounts, who seemed to be the best source of Yuuri-related content.)

 

Yuuri always showed up surrounded with beautiful, unknown people. Not models or celebrities, like Victor did. Yuuri seemed to attract the kind of people whose souls are so pure, so kind that even their skin seem to glow of happiness. And they all stared at him with a look of fondness and utmost devotion, like they would gladly abandon everything and everyone they knew just to cater to Yuuri’s needs and wishes.

 

There was also the several articles (some of them, in Japanese!) about how Yuuri never had a significant one, never dated anyone, never sought out any type of relationship, despite the dozens of people that were constantly flirting with him.

 

These articles were usually followed by conspiracy theories of how Yuuri was either assexual or aromantic, that Yuuri was secretly engaged to someone else already (the traditional arranged marriages often came up in these ‘articles’, and the writers tried to backup their theories with the fact that Yuuri came from a poor, isolated town and that their parents were very traditional and reserved people) or, to top them all, that Yuuri was secretly dating Phichit.

 

And, amid all these news articles and fanblogs, Victor finally realized that Yuuri Katsuki was a trap.

 

Yuuri Katsuki lures you in slowly.

 

First you notice the graceful way he skates, how his movements are soft and fluid, how his face reflects perfectly whatever story he’s trying to tell the world.

 

Then you notice how soft his cheeks are, how long his lashes are, how his smile seems to light up the entire city, how his eyes shine when he’s around his loved ones or when he’s presented with food.

 

And, without even realizing, you find yourself glued to your phone at three in the morning watching old interviews of the Japanese skater where he forgets a word and does a funny face because of it or when the exhaustion is so prevalent, so hard to fight, that he blurts out the most random answers before excusing himself with a perfect bow and making a beeline towards his coach.

 

And, with that, came problem number two.

 

Yuuri’s coach was Celestino Cialdini, also known as Ciao Ciao.

 

Celestino Cialdini.

 

The same one that had been Yakov’s main rival since their skating days and that had, for several times, criticized the way Yakov dealt with his main skaters (never in public, obviously, but news travel fast in such a small social circle).

 

Now, Yakov was a patient, accepting person who had lived through a lot and knew how to handle even the more exuberant characteristics of his skaters. He was also usually not very interested in his skaters’ private lives, as long as they didn't go against the federation’s rules, nor embarrassed the motherland with inappropriate behaviour.

 

(Once again, Victor was at fault here.)

 

(He’s not proud but he’s also not ashamed.)

 

(You only live once, don’t you?)

 

Dating the main skater of his main rival, specially when said skater was known for being morally dubious, was absolutely out of question. There was not even a slight chance that Yakov was even going to consider agreeing to it.

 

That's why Victor decided to not tell the old man that he was planning on wooing the Japanese skater at the World's.

 

Which… also hadn’t gone well.

 

Victor was lost.

 

“Victor, you can’t ke-”

 

Maybe Yura had been right.

 

Maybe Yuuri was too good for him and was going to steal all his records and Victor would end his career uninspired, unloved and reduced to a silver medal

 

“Victor, Yakov is going to-”

 

But Chris had given him hope!

 

_“Chris, can someone be out of my league?” Victor had ask during a Skype call, honestly curious._

 

_Chris blinked at him slowly, the muted sounds of static nagging at Victor’s ears._

 

_“Of course. You’re not the be-all, end-all, mon amour. Although being a five times gold medal winner certainly gives you a leg up on the competition.”_

 

_Victor sighed, leaning his chin on his crossed arms over the table. Yuuri only seemed to care that Victor was an ice skater himself when he feared that Victor would trash talk him around the reporters and destroy his career._

 

_“Just because someone is out of your league does not mean you shouldn’t try, mon chéri.” Chris continued._

 

_“You’d be mad at me if I did and I’m pretty sure he isn’t interested in having a relationship,” Victor mumbled, because that was also something to worry about, the second part a bit more than the first._

 

_Chris’ face did something strange before he asked, very gently, as if he was afraid that Victor would get startled and turn off the computer before he got any answers “My love, are you — are you speaking about Yuuri Katsuki, Japan’s Ace, Celestino’s main skater?”_

 

_Victor inwardly cursed, because, of course Chris would immediately figure it out._

 

_“Maybe.” He sat up, ready to defend himself. “But! He’s nothing like what the media says about him! He’s shy and kind and he works very hard and… I really like him, Chris!”_

 

_Chris was silent so long that Victor began to sweat, wondering how harshly he’d be scolded._

 

_His relationship with Chris was a mixture of friendship and brotherly companionship and Chris, being the honest person he was, never had any problem with calling Victor on his bullshit when he felt like it was necessary._

 

_Dating a known heartbreaker (even if said person was, in fact, not a disgusting player as the media portrayed him) would probably fall under the “bullshit” category._

 

_“Victor, love of my life, my friend, mon chéri,” he said after another moment. “Yuuri Katsuki is so far out of your league that you’re not even playing the same sport.”_

 

_“Chris,” Victor gasped, offended, as the boy on the other side of the screen laughed himself to tears._

 

_“You should still try. He does has a cute face and an ever cuter butt. It’s worth the try, I suppose. Besides, I don’t think Yuuri is a player, despite whatever those gossip magazines claim.”_

 

“Victor, I swear to God, if you don’t pay attention-”, Mila’s voice came ran loudly in his ears and Victor almost snapped at attention.

 

“Mila?”

 

“Don’t you ‘Mila’ me, Victor! I’ve been talking to you for almost five minutes now and you didn’t listen to a single word.”

 

Now, Victor isn’t completely stupid.

 

He knows he can’t keep on moping and not do anything about his current situation.

 

Especially, if Mila is talking to him.

 

“But Mila! Yuuri doesn’t -”

 

“About that… There’s something I probably should have told you before the world’s.”

 

“Oh?”

 

She sighed heavily and sat down in the small bench next to him. They stayed in silence for a while, much like they used to do back in Juniors, when it was just him and Mila and Yakov hadn’t pick Georgi up yet.

 

It would have been nice if her words hadn’t sound so ominous.

 

“When I pointed you towards Phichit’s accounts, I thought you’d notice Eunho right away… But you never mentioned him and I should have realized it right away before you got your hopes up… And it wasn’t like Yuuri ever told anyone about him so maybe I’m overreacting but it had been better, safer for you to know before the World’s. I guess it’s too late now, isn’t it?”

 

She looked up at him, smiling a little.

 

It was sad, grief-filled smile and Victor knew immediately it wasn’t a good look on Mila.

 

“I don’t understand.” He whispered. She jerked back a little and turned her eyes to where Yakov was yelling something at Georgi, from across the rink. “I thought we were talking about my Yuuri!”

 

“Give me your phone and I’ll show you.”

 

“I don’t have my-”, Victor tried.

 

Technically, he shouldn’t have his phone with him during practice but, since he was still on rest duty due to the World’s and not really practicing, having it with him was probably not against the rules.

 

She raised her eyebrow towards him and made grabbing motions with one hand, clearly not believing one word that came out of his mouth.

 

“Fine”, he grumbled, pulling out the device from his pocket, “but don’t tell Yakov.”

 

“Do I ever?”, was all Mila said while tapping away.

 

When Victor tried to see what she was doing, she shooed him away and leaned back in the opposite direction.

 

“Here. This is Eunho.”

 

She handed him back the phone and Victor noticed that his instagram app had been opened on someone’s profile.

 

**Eunho Lee Yang,**

**Korean-American, 24**

**Dancer | Actor | Digital Media Producer**

 

“I don’t…” Victor turned back to the other skater, looking like a confused puppy who doesn’t understand why it can’t walk through glass doors.

 

“Just scroll down.” She rolls her eyes at him but decides to help him nonetheless and taps in a particular picture for him to see.

 

It’s a few months old and a little bit grainy but Yuuri is there so Victor snaps at attention.

 

**Eunho Lee Yang**

[ **Photo:** Yuuri is laying in bed, holding his hand to his face in the shape of a peace sign. His hair is messy and he’s wearing an old Japan’s Team shirt. On the background, laying across his back, is Eunho. They are both smiling.]

 **Eunho Lee Yang:** Today’s training with @katsukiyuuri was amazing! **@minako_okukawa** is the best ballet teacher ever. But now it’s time to rest! Good night everyone, and we’ll see you in Tokyo at **@ttdancestudio** in two days!

Liked by **@katsukiyuuri** , **@phichit+chu** , **@minako_okukawa** and **6, 265 others**

 

“Oh.”

 

“Eunho is a famous dancer, actor and video producer from South Korea”, she explained as Victor scrolled through the dozens, hundreds of pictures that featured the two men.

 

“They met in America, when Yuuri moved there, and they shared a house for two, almost three years, i think, before Eunho moved back to South Korea to work.”

 

“Are they dating?”, Victor found himself asking before he could bite back the words. His voice sounded strange even to his own ears, like he had suddenly fell into the sea and was trying to speak through the water

 

“I don’t know, Victor. Yuuri almost never talks about him and Sara Crispino, who is somewhat close to him, says that they are just friends but...”

 

Victor didn’t know what to think.

 

If Yuuri was, in fact, dating Eunho, then Victor had no chance.

 

If Yuuri wasn’t dating Eunho, then Victor might have a chance but, after the banquet shitshow, the Japanese skater might never want to look at him ever again.

 

“Victor, I’m sorry. I should have told you something and-”

 

“Vitya! Mila! Get your asses here immediately!” Yakov growled loudly at them from across the rink. Mila was the first to get up and ends up pushing him towards the ice.

 

“Yes, Yakov?”, Mila had the nerve to singsong, mostly because Victor was still too shaken to do it for her.

 

“I have news for you.”

 

“Oh! What about?”, Georgi asked, trying to grab some of the files on the coach’s hand, only to be swatt away

 

“Get moving, old man. I need to practice!”, Yuri yelled and they could practically hear his teeth snapping from all the pressure.

 

‘His dentist must hate him’, Victor mused.

 

“The Federation sent in the teams for the summer camp and, for the sake of everyone’s sanity, you’re all in different teams. The schedules will be given to you when we get to Ontario.”

 

“Ew, it’s in Ontario? I can’t put up with that JJ dumbass during two weeks.” Yuri, always so helpful, added.

 

“I’m not even paired with Chris! Yakov, I need to change this!” Victor wailed out and had to step back to avoid getting kick in the groin by Yuri.

 

“Why am I paired with JJ?” Georgi questioned, waving the brightly colored paper in the coach’s face.

 

“Enough!” Yakov roared, silencing them. ”Sometimes I think that I’m running a circus, not training professional athletes!”

 

“There will be no trades and Victor you will stay away from Giacometti’s messes and you will let the Japanese Yuri alone, or so help me God! The first person to break the rules or disrupt the activities will be sent home, alone.”

 

“That’s not f-”, Victor tried, only to be cut by an incredibly angry Yakov

 

“Break the rules and you’ll be sent home, alone, with plenty of time to find a new coach for the season, Vitya.”

 

“Ok.”

 

The older man relaxed a bit at that and handed him yet another file.

 

“Cialdini already gave us an answer. They want to keep this quiet and they won’t use it against you, as long as you leave his skaters alone to train in peace for the next few months.”

 

“But-”

 

“Listen to me, Vitya: I have always supported you and I always will but you’ve gone too far. That Katsuki boy could use this against you and destroy you with a single interview. There were witness! A room full of people watched you get drunk on champagne and hit Katsuki in the end with a flute.”

 

“It was an accident!”, the skater tried to argue but Yakov wasn’t taking it.

 

“Think about it. You almost get beaten by Katsuki and, only a few hours later, you hit him in the head. What do you think people will think?”

 

Yakov was right.

 

People don’t care about how nice and kind you are, how good your intentions were. Victor made a mistake that night and he could be burned alive for it if anyone decided to speak about it.

 

“I’ll behave, Yakov. I will.”

 

“Good. Now, all of you get out of my face. Go pack your bags. We leave tonight.”


	4. Maybe We Can Nope Out Of This Situation

Yuuri wasn’t nervous. He was so not-nervous he was pacing. He considered throwing on some gym clothes, heading out to walk around campus and just avoid the whole ‘summer camp’ issue for a few hours. Maybe even go back to the ice rink. Just until he really had to go to the airport.

 

Then he remembered that, even if he had the energy to skate a few hours, Celestino would never allow it, not this soon after a big competition, and that Phichit was in the living room at that exact moment and would probably see him leave and ask questions. Thus, leaving would only speed up the entire process, which was the exact opposite of what Yuuri wanted.

 

In the end, Yuuri decided, trying to avoid Phichit and his questions was stupid. After all, they had lived together and shared a rink for almost two years now, not to mention the fact that they were both going to the summer camp.

 

Yuuri had been lucky enough to not have Phichit with him during the Nikiforov incident, as Celestino had called it, and had managed to escape Phichit’s questions up until now. But he would have to face Phichit eventually and that conversation would be significantly less awkward if it happened sooner rather than later. Preferably, before there were multiple strangers around them.

 

Yuuri kept pacing.

 

He wished Eunho had been able to come back and visit before the summer camp started.

 

In fact, he wished Eunho had never left.

 

But the older boy had auditioned for a place in a popular dance academy, back in Korea a few years back, and he won a place there. He couldn’t waste his opportunity to follow his dreams just because Yuuri was dependent and weak.

 

Eunho had enough talent and training to become the best dancer in the academy and Yuuri would never let him waste that chance. So the older boy had gone back to his homeland, along with his family, and they had to find new ways to keep in touch.

 

Eunho would visit as much as he could but, between his own schedule and Yuuri’s classes and competitions, they found themselves seeing each other far Less often than what they would like.

 

Yuuri considered just studying until Celestino arrived to pick them up but they were currently on break and there wasn’t much to study (Phichit hadn’t let him pick up the next semester’s syllabus until the very last minute, knowing that he would overwork himself instead of enjoy the small, well-deserved break he had).

 

“Maybe”, Yuuri mumbled to himself, hopeful “Phichit won’t bring it up? Maybe he forgot about it or he found something, someone, else more interesting to talk about? Maybe, if I leave quickly enough, he won’t have time to ask anything at all…”

 

He was about to just give up and head out to the ice rink anyway when his bedroom door flew open, just barely missed his face, and Phichit tumbled into the room.

 

“I can hear you overthinking from across the apartment!” The boy was smiling, despite being obviously out of breath and overwhelmed by the amount of luggage he was carrying.

 

“I wasn’t overthinking.”

 

“Of course you were”, Phichit insisted. He dropped the bags just outside Yuuri’s door and walked into the room, eyeing the other skater with an amused expression. “That’s why I’m going to drag you back to the living room for a quick nap.”

 

“Our couch is shit, Phichit” Yuuri complained before shaking his head in disbelief. What on Earth was he saying? They had bigger problems than a crappy, beaten down couch. “I’m not tired and we can’t sleep now, or we’ll be late.”

 

“Nonsense”, Phichit rolled his eyes at him before grabbing him by the arm and pull him towards the bedroom’s door, “we still have three whole hours before Ciao Ciao picks us up. I’ll even set up an alarm, if you want!”

 

They woke up late.

 

And with back pains.

 

Celestino was not amused.

 

Thankfully, with a lot of running and even more luck, they managed to catch their flight without loosing their bags nor their heads. They still got an earful for falling asleep and not being able to double check for everything before leaving but Phichit was too happy and Yuuri was too stressed for any of them to actually care.

 

Eventually Celestino noticed that he wasn’t being listened to so he just gave up with mild complaining and left the two skaters to sleep in silence. Well, Yuuri was pretending to sleep while Phichit was trying to convince him that, yes, stalking (“Research! I do research on our fellow skaters! I don’t stalk them, because that would be weird!”) all the other skaters that had confirmed their presence in the summer camp was of utmost importance and had to be done as soon as possible.

 

At some point, Yuuri found himself half conscious as his mind wandered through memories, nightmarish-concerns about the future and straight up impossible scenarios (like that one time he dreamt that Phichit had turned himself into a hamster and they couldn’t find skates small enough for him to compete).

  


“What is your other best friend like?”

 

Present-Yuuri sees a younger version of himself talking to a even younger Phichit, much like if he was watching a movie but with his eyes closed, and he immediately recognizes that moment. It had happened a few weeks after Phichit moved in with Yuuri and they were still getting to know each other.

 

Past-Yuuri was confused for a second before he remembers that Phichit had declared himself as his new best friend soon after they met.

 

"Eunho?”

 

“Yes, him.”

 

“Well…” Yuuri thought about it. “He’s nice. Funny. Good at dancing.”

 

“Good. I’ve decided I want to meet him.”

 

“You’ve decided that just now, have you?” Yuuri asked before he could stop himself. If Phichit was surprised by his sudden bravery, he doesn’t comments on it. In fact, the other boy smirks at him once again.

 

“Recently enough.” Yuuri felt his eyebrows moving before he could control his expression.

 

“Is it a fair assumption that you’re just going to randomly stalk him everytime he comes to visit me?”

 

“A little more than fair.”

 

“Terrific,” Yuuri offered because his anxiety was setting in and it makes him reckless. He regretted it once that conversation was over and he was left alone in his room, cheeks burning red and his mind yelling at him for being stupid.

 

“Ciao Ciao will not be able to warn you as Ciao Ciao is unaware of my decision,” Phichit added. Damn. Of course Phichit knew he’d be counting on that.

 

“Please do not terrify my friend.” Yuuri almost begged but he wasn’t actually sure Phichit would. Besides that, Eunho, he knows, isn’t frightened of anyone. An unwise move, in his opinion, as one should always be a little afraid of Phichit. His stalking (“Research!” Phichit always corrects him, “I do research!”) skills are inhumane and he always knows too much. Yuuri is sure he did a pact with a demon in order to always get the perfect lighting and angle in all his selfies.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

The scene fades away and gives space to a new, more recent, memory.

 

“Phichit, may I introduce Eunho Lee Yang,” Yuuri spoke as he stood up to greet the older boy with a tight hug.

 

‘That curtains were really terrible’, Present-Yuuri muses at his own memory, still half asleep. ‘I’m glad Eunho threw them away as soon as he saw them.’

 

“Yuuri, you traitor, I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me,” Phichit’s mouth gaped like a fish for a moment as he took in the sight before a sly smile stretched across his face.

 

“To be fair, you never asked when he was coming back to visit,” Yuuri smirked back, shoulders relaxing as he saw a tiny spark light up in Phichit’s eyes.

 

“To be even fairer, it’s not like Yuuri would have told you had you asked,” Eunho gave Yuuri a cheeky smile before turning to Phichit with an outstretched hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

 

“Yeah, honestly never thought I’d get the chance seeing as how you’re supposed to be the next hot korean superstar and all that,” Phichit took his hand and Yuuri let out a wry chuckle as a sheepish smile stretched across Eunho’s face.

 

The three of them end up spread across their crappy couch, eating leftover pizza from the night before, despite Yuuri’s protests about maintaining his ideal weight, and chatting about what they had been up to since Eunho’s last visit.

 

It’s oddly domestic, how Eunho’s free arm is wrapped around Yuuri’s waist and how Yuuri is slowly pushing Phichit off the couch with his feet, for all the terrible, but truthful, stories he tells about him. It’s comforting and none of them would have it any other way.

  


He can almost feel Eunho’s warmth against his shoulder as he’s woken up by the air hostess who’s going around with lunch. He declines the offer with a small smile before going back to sleep.

 

Celestino might have been telling him that he had to eat something but his mind was too far gone to properly register his concerns.

 

This time, the memories come flooding his mind in a quick sequence and Phichit isn’t anywhere near them. It’s a strange mix of unimportant moments but that Yuuri holds dear and near to his heart.

 

Like that one time Yuuri got stuck on a crowded hallway, on his way to an exam, and almost had a full blown out panic attack because his teacher would never let him walk in past after the bell. Out of nowhere, he felt himself being picked up in the air and, before he could complain, he was thrown over Eunho’s shoulders as the older boy carried him all the way to his classroom, loudly announcing their presence and barreling through the crowd. He actually escorted Yuuri to his seat before waving goodbye and walking away, already late to his own class. The teacher didn’t look too happy but he also didn’t stop Yuuri from taking the exam so the skater had counted it as a victory.

 

Or the stupid amount of nights when Eunho laid awake, freezing, because Yuuri had hogged the blankets after a studying session in the living room’s floor or because said blankets were too small for him to comfortably lay down and still be entirely covered without disturbing Yuuri. This went on for over a year until Eunho got sick from sleeping without blankets and Yuuri forced a confession out of him.

 

From that moment on, each boy started using their own individual blankets and saved up to buy an extra big one to comfortably cover both of them at the same time. Phichit still laughs at them every time he finds them like this during cold nights but he always ends up joining them.

 

“Yuuri? Wake up, we’re landing.”

 

He doesn’t wipe away the drool on his face because he doesn’t drool, no matter what Phichit or Eunho might say, but he does rubs the sleep away from his eyes and tries to stretch his back as well as he can without hitting both Phichit and Celestino in the face.

 

They arrive at the camp three hours later, grumpy and starving, but Celestino has orders to bring them there as soon as possible.

 

In the end, their rush is almost foolish because they end up being one of the first group to arrive, second only to J.J. who has the unfair advantage to actually live nearby.

 

A young looking girl, probably younger than Yuuri himself, welcomes them to the camp and gives each of them, Celestino included, a bag full of things. She’s kind, even if she looks a bit too excited to be there, and she repeats basically all that they already know from reading the files: the programme will take place over the next two weeks; they are sharing a room with the rest of their group; there are translators and representatives from their federations in the camp with them at all times and they have to follow the instructions and rules in order to keep on attending the activities.

 

“This way, please”, she guides them into a smaller room along with J.J. and two other Canadian skaters. “The tech crew will be giving you your mics and cameras now and teach you how to work with them. Remember you can’t turn them off during the main activities but you can take them off while you’re skating, dancing, working out or doing any kind of physical activity that requires a lot of movements. During those moments, the crew will be filming you using their own cameras. At the end of the day, we’ll collect and compile the best scenes and, unless there’s any problem, they’ll be featured in the daily vlogs.”

 

Yuuri tries not to panic over the fact that he’ll be filmed and followed during the next two weeks as Mike, the crew leader, tells them how to straps their cameras to their body and how to turn them on and off. They will be handing them in everyday, before going to bed, so they can charge them and collect everything they recorded during the day

 

They’re almost over when Celestino suddenly walks in and asks Mike if Yuuri and Phichit are allowed to leave. The older man looks confused for a second but lets them go after making them test out the cameras and microphones and they manage to walk out of the room just as the Russian team arrives.

 

Yuuri isn’t dumb.

 

He notices how Phichit immediately quiets down, to try and keep the attention off them, and how Celestino practically makes them run out of the room, always standing by Yuuri’s side, at the perfect angle so he can’t see much more than a glimpse of the Russian standard red and white jackets.

 

If Victor, or anyone in his team, really, sees them, they don’t make any move towards them and Yuuri allows both Celestino and Phichit to drag him to the room he’ll be staying in. It’s better this way.

 

* * *

 

 

Yuri was still fuming, even after two whole weeks, watching as Yakov punishes Victor and kicking the older skater twice in his right leg as hard as he could.

 

The idiot had not only embarrassed himself in front of a room full of people by getting smashed on champagne of all things but he also managed to hit Yuuri Katsuki in the head with a freaking flute. To top it all, Victor had to be dragged away by Bad-Touch-Chris and Yakov while he whined for Yuuri to come back.

 

Not satisfied with the mess he made, the idiot went back to Russia and kept on moaning and complaining about Japanese-Yuri.

 

So, yeah, Yuri was still fuming.

 

He spends the entire flight to Canada ("Who was the fucking genius that decided to do this in fucking Canada?’") planning a way to get back at Victor and make Yuuri notice him, only to have his stupid coach, Celestino something, drag him away as soon as the Russian team steps foot inside the summer camp.

 

This time Yakov wasn’t fast enough and he gets to punch Victor in the arm as soon as the first high-pitched complaint leaves his body.

 

‘It’s not a permanent fix.’ Yuri admits in the privacy of his own head. ‘But it sure feels nice to make that idiot shut up for a second about Yuuri. It’s not like he even knew Katsuki existed in the beginning of the year, for fuck’s sake!’

 

A girl comes up to meet them and it’s obvious that she’s one of Victor’s stupid fangirls because she practically forgets how to breathe as soon as Victor snaps out of it and looks at her.

 

She drags them to a small room and, much to everyone’s dismay, J.J. is still there, telling jokes and taking selfies for his stupid instagram. The Canadian Asshole actually tries to have a chat with Victor but the airhead is too distracted by the lack of Yuuri’s presence in the room to pay him attention and, eventually, J.J.’s parents tell him to get moving.

 

‘Who the fuck brings his parents with them to a summer camp?’, he asks out loud and Mila, ever the witch, pinches him for his trouble.

 

Whatever.

 

He can beat them all in his sleep and his main concern right now is Yuuri Katsuki. J. J. can go die in a corner for all he cares

 

They give him a camera and a microphone and make him prove that he knows how to use it.

 

“Of course I know how to use it! Do you think I’m an idiot?”, he growls but does as he’s told because Yakov is standing right behind him and he can’t be sent home before he meets Yuuri. At some point, the guy, Mark, Mario, whatever, moves on to teach Georgi how to use the camera and Yuri manages to sneak away.

 

The girl from before is too busy speaking to the receptionist in french and doesn’t sees him walking past them, which is good because Yuri is sure that he isn’t meant to go up the stairs and go to the living quarters just yet.

 

Hell, he’s pretty sure they are going to keep Juniors in some other building with all the coaches.

 

Unfortunately, he doesn’t get very far because, suddenly, Celestino shows up at the end of the hallway and starts walking in his direction with Phichit Chulanont and Yuri stumbles into whatever door is behind him and locks himself inside said room.

 

“Eh...Excuse me?”

 

Fuck.

 

Fuck this universe and everyone in it.

 

“ _Excusez-moi?_ ” The voice repeats in french and Yuri turns around to face it.

 

“I speak english, you idiot!”


	5. Boy, That Sure Was Weird

“Oh…”, was all Yuuri managed say as he stared at the kid in front of him. 

 

He recognizes the younger skater as Yuri Plisetsky, Russia’s future ice skating legend. Phichit had brought him up mid-dinner, back when Plisetsky started training under Mr. Feltsman’s guidance, calling him ‘Yuuri’s namesake’. 

 

Clearly, the only thing they had in common was a first name (Yuuri still argued about the missing ‘u’ but Phichit shrugged him away). Plisetsky, despite only being thirteen, already had a long record of violent outbursts and dangerous stunts during competitions and his fans, Yuri’s Angels as he had nicknamed them, were borderline insane, following him everywhere and harassing whoever tried to cross his path to glory.

 

If before the Nikiforov incident the last thing Yuuri wanted was to meet the younger skater, now, after that entire mess, Yuuri would gladly give up his soul just so Plisetsky didn’t notice him during the next two weeks.

 

‘Too late for that’, Yuuri thought bitterly.

 

“You’re Yuuri Katsuki”, Plisetsky announced, hands balled into shaking fists as he glared at back at Yuuri.

 

It wasn’t even a question but it would be awkward if Yuuri just stood there, waiting for the other skater to talk. 

 

“Yes.”

 

The Japanese skater fought back the instinct to make a run for the door. Even if he could get to it, which he couldn’t, since his Russian counterpart was standing in front of it, Plisetsky would never shut up about how Yuuri, a twenty one years old man, ran away from just seeing him, who was barely a teenager with attitude problems and an obsession for cats. 

 

“I’m going to win gold against you as soon as those idiots let me compete in seniors.”

 

The words came through as sharp as knives, causing Yuuri to stand up from his bed. Plisetsky probably saw it as a provocation because he too stepped forward and did his best to look intimidating.

 

‘Well, for a teenager with matching tiger print shirt and socks, he’s doing a pretty good job.’, Yuuri mused before crossing his arms. 

 

“You are a dumbass. What kind of pig loses to Nikiforov?”

 

“Well, everyone on the planet for the last five years.”

 

He regretted saying those words as soon as they came out because Plisetsky’s face turned two shades pinker and, suddenly, his face was close enough for Yuuri to see the freckles on his pale skin.

 

“You better win gold next year, Katsuki,” the russian hissed, dropping his voice as low as his vocal cords allowed him to, “because after that I’m going to beat you, Nikiforov and Giacometti and your chances to make something of your career will be over.” 

 

With that, the boy turned around, kicked the small trash can near Yuuri’s bed, and walked out, not even bothering to close the door.

 

It took Yuuri five minutes to get himself to close the door and other five for his brain to stop playing the encounter in a loop.

 

‘What the hell just happened? Did Yuri Plisetsky just gave me a motivational speech?’ The japanese skater laughed at his own thought before throwing himself over his bed. He was sure that, if anyone had heard him saying that, they would have laugh too.

 

Yuuri Plisetsky didn’t gave motivational speeches to anyone, let alone to a low-life, dime a dozen skater like Yuuri. It just didn’t make sense.

 

‘He probably just wanted to rub it in my face…’, Yuuri decided as he rolled himself out of bed. Phichit would be done with waiting for him by now. ‘That I’ll never be able to beat Victor. That he’ll never notice me.’

  
  


“Here you are! Ciao Ciao was getting worried that you weren’t going to come down anytime soon.” Phichit greeted, poking Yuuri’s side.

 

“I… I was talking to Yuri Plisetsky.”

 

Phichit stared blankly at Yuuri.

 

“Huh… I’m sorry… What?”

 

“I don’t know”, Yuuri admitted. 

 

When Phichit didn’t gave him any sort of answer, Yuuri decided to try his luck and waved a hand in front of the other skater’s face.

 

“Phichit?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I don’t have an explanation for this. He just walked into my room, yelled at him for losing against Victor, told me he would beat us all, that is, me, Victor and Chris and left.”

 

“Ahh...”

 

“Do you need to seat down?” Yuuri asked, noticing the blank stare in the other skater’s face.

 

“Uh… No, I…” The Thai skater blinked slowly before scanning the room for Plisetsky’s blond head. “Why would he do that?”

 

“Because he likes to yell at people.”

 

Phichit stared at Yuuri for a moment, surprised at his reaction, but then he shook his head, figuring that he would only get more upset if they kept on talking about what had happened.

 

He grabbed Yuuri’s hand and proceed to drag him towards who seemed to be Sara Crispino.

 

“C’mon, let’s go. Sara is here and I want to talk to her.”

 

* * *

 

 

Statistically speaking, an interview involving the world’s top ice skaters, individually or all together, was rarely a good idea.

 

Yuri Plisetsky found reporters to be invasive and irritating, and said as much, frequently and at great volume, not shying away from colorful language. 

 

Otabek Altin simply glowered at whichever one happened to have offended him the most in the past three minutes in a manner that threatened grievous bodily harm. 

 

Georgi Popovich alternately shot tears, nonsense, or murderous glares at them, depending on his mood. 

 

Phichit Chulanont was a natural charmer but had a tendency towards gossiping instead of focusing in the technical questions.

 

All in all, the only skaters that could - occasionally - be trusted in front of the cameras were Yuuri Katsuki, who was polite and reserved but tended to speak without thinking when he was overwhelmed, Victor Nikiforov, who knew exactly what to say in order to charm a crowd while still politely insulting rude reporters, and Chris Giacometti, who thought carefully about what he shouldn’t say, and said it.

 

And, because things can’t be all bad, Mila Babicheva and Sara Crispino were usually calm and collected enough to not cause much damage. Unless there was some sort of prank war going on. 

 

It was for those reasons, as well as a multitude more, that at least one certified handler, and that could mean a coach, a ballet instructor or even a physician, was present at every interview or press conference the skaters were subjected to. 

 

It didn’t guarantee good behavior - Nikiforov’s historial was enough proof of that - but it did give their coaches, and the federation, a representative, or six, on the ground if they needed to do some damage control or PR campaign.

 

Min-so Park had drawn the short straw on attending the senior’s interviews. She was perfectly aware that the drawing had been rigged with most of the coaches still signing-in their skaters, Feltsman busy with the organization (since this one was substituting his own summer camp after all), and Celestino had been requested to attend the Juniors’ interviews, which left Min-so Park as the only coach that was free and responsible enough for the job. 

 

None of this made her feel any better about her current position, back side going numb on a dented metal folding chair, arms neatly folded, fingers clenching tight enough at her own arms in an attempt to control her stress levels.

 

This should be fine.

 

She was just supervising twenty perfectly capable adults.

 

At any moment she could ask to stop the interview and to trade places with another handler.

 

She gave one last look at the way Nikiforov was eyeing Katsuki and that was enough to make her slump in her seat. 

 

This wasn’t going to be fine.


	6. Cool Cool Cool Cool Cool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Im sorry this chapter was late but uni and work are killing me.
> 
> This chapter is written as it would be edited, so with cuts in between scenes. Don't worry, i tried to divide each scene and there's indication of who's talking every time. But, just in case, Yuuri is with Phichit, Victor is with Chris, Mila and Georgi are together, JJ is with Sara Crispino, Michele is with Otabek and i think that's all.
> 
> Also each scene was inspired by the irl google autocomplete interviews.

Yuuri stares at the camera as a crew member reads the introduction part for the first video.

 

He knows what this one is going to be about. Phichit has showed him some of their videos before. It’s a fun concept and somewhat closer to a game than an actual interview, which makes him less nervous.

 

They give them a sign to start talking and Phichit offers him a small, encouraging smile.

 

“Everyone has done this at some point in their lives and you’re like ‘ _Oh God! I was feeling so good about myself a second ago_ ’.”

 

Yuuri smiles slightly at Phichit’s horrified expression and reaches out to grab the first set of questions.

 

‘ _You can do this, Yuuri._ ’, he tells himself. ‘ _Focus, relax and have fun._ ’

 

* * *

 

Victor, who, for this interview and this interview only, was allowed to be with Chris, is having the time of his life. This kind of interviews are very popular online and doing something like this was definitely on his bucket list. Right after doing a ‘seventy-three questions vogue’ interview and meeting Britney Spears.

 

Next to him, Chris is practically flirting with the camera operators as they explain him how the interview will go.

 

“Ok, ready?”, someone from behind the cameras ask them and, at their sign, the cameras start rolling.

 

* * *

 

“Ok, Mr. Popovich, Ms. Babicheva, we can start whenever you’re ready.”

 

“Let’s do this!”, Georgi agrees, giving the camera a bright smile, and Mila nods with her head in response.

 

* * *

 

_“Google Autocomplete Interview:  Autocomplete suggests the most common searches on the Internet. So WIRED asked the world’s top skaters the Internet’s burning questions.”_

 

* * *

 

“Is Phichit Chulanont’s family famous?”, Yuuri reads out loud and turns to the other skater, awaiting for his answer. The Tai skater smiles brightly before answering, pride evident in his voice.

 

“Yes! Uh… My family is one of the oldest families in Thailand and several of my ancestors had positions in power or some kind of popularity among our people. It is an honour to represent both my family and my country in the ice skating world.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Is Victor Nikiforov missing a tooth?”, Chris asks and barely manages to control himself long enough to read out the entire question before bursting into laughter.

 

“No!”, Victor hands fly upwards towards his chin, as if to check if he had lost a tooth without noticing. The camera zooms in on his horrified expression and the crew behind the camera have a hard time controlling their own laughter. “Wha- What kind of questions are these? These are all my teeth!”

 

“Victor Nikiforov is missing a lot of things…”, the Swiss skater muses in between giggles before getting elbowed in the ribs.

 

* * *

 

“Is Yuuri Katsuki mean?”, Phichit cringes at Yuuri’s confused and worried expression and, from where he’s sitting, he can see that even the camera operator feels a bit uncomfortable with the question.

 

“Mean? Wow… Mean? Why would they think-”

 

“No!”, next to him, Yuuri jumps at his loud volume but the younger boy ignores it in favour of facing the camera with the most serious expression. “He’s the nicest person on Earth. He’d rather die than being mean to someone.”

 

* * *

 

“What is Georgi Popovich… This could just end right there. What is Georgi Popovich?”, Mila jokes, trying to get Georgi to smile a little. The language barrier has always made him uncomfortable, despite his best efforts to improve his english skills over the last few months and his overall enthusiasm when it comes to connect to his fans and supporters.

 

Georgi smiles slightly at her antics and urges her to rip the rest of the paper.

 

“Oh… What is Georgi Popovich eyeshadow brand?”

 

“Do you know what it is?”, he asks, leaning away from her as to show off his makeup.

 

“Uh…. You use the Saharan Palette and the Masquerade one, right? Yeah! Both by Juvia’s Place, not-sponsored, by the way!”, she gave a quick glance towards the camera operator and smiled when he offered her a thumb-up. “And Gosha can actually do his makeup nicely when he isn’t too overwhelmed by his feelings! He doesn’t wear makeup often but he can do it like a normal human being when he wants to.”

 

“What do you mean?”, he asks honestly. Mila doesn’t laugh because she is nice like that. “My makeup always looks nice!”

 

“Well… Your looks for competitions tend to be… Extra, as the internet would put it.”

 

* * *

 

“I mean… I don’t even think you have to rip it out.”, Victor gestures towards the little white board. “‘ _How Chris Giacometti’_  is a question I ask myself everyday.”

 

“If you figure it out, let me know, mon chéri…”, Chris purrs in his ear before winking at the camera.

 

“Without further ado…” Victor can practically hear the drum rolls animations as he slowly removes the paper square to reveal the entire question. “How is Chris Giacometti? What? Is this it?”

 

He glances at the camera operator in front of them, who confirms that, yes, that question is the top googled question about Chris Giacometti.

 

‘Uh, that was underwhelming…’

 

“Well… How are you?”, he turns once more to Chris.

 

“I’m very well, thank you! I’m sitting on a nice chair, surrounded by friends and excited for this new adventure! How are you, mon amour?”

 

“That’s not how this works… But, very well, thank you.”

 

* * *

 

“How did Mila Babicheva prepare for the World’s?”, Georgi reads out carefully as Mila mindlessly plays with the little paper he ripped off the board.

 

“Training! The usual but with much more intensity and just… eating well, resting as much as possible, doing some stress management and training hard!”, she knows it’s not the most interesting answer but it’s the truth. Their fans tend to think there’s some sort of secret formula or diet that helps them win but most of the times it’s only hard work and lots of rest.

 

“That’s it?”, Georgi himself questions, eyebrows drawn together.

 

“Well, what else did I do?”

 

“Yell at us? Chase us around the rink? Beat up rude hockey players?”

 

She doesn’t laughs at his horrified expression.

 

She doesn’t.

 

Well, she tries not to.

 

“Yeah but that counts as stress management!”

 

* * *

 

“What Sara Crispino…What color are Sara Crispino eyes?” J.J tries to face Sara but she turns away quickly.

  
“You’ve been staring at me for the last ten minutes!”

 

J.J. leans across the chair only to get pushed back before he can see her eyes.  “Uh… It depends on your mood!”

 

“Hmhm… Of course…”

 

“Uh… Grey? No! No!”

 

“He doesn’t know! I don’t think he knows!”, Sara’s entire body shakes with laughter as she almost falls off the chair.

 

“They normally are… They’re so distinct too! They are the color of beauty!”, he teased, stealing yet another laugh from Sara. Eventually she gets up again and stares at him, bites down a smile.

 

“Oh damn, it was purple!”

 

* * *

 

“Where is Yuuri Katsuki… Where is Yuuri Katsuki from?”

 

“Born and raised in Hasetsu, Japan. It’s a very beautiful small town and my parents run a hot spring there! I moved to Detroit, United States of America when I was eighteen and that’s where I live now.”

 

“Not as nice as Hasetsu, though…”, Phichit agrees. “You guys should visit it when you can! It’s very relaxing and everyone is super nice.”

 

* * *

 

“Where did Victor Nikiforov go to high school?”, Chris asks, shaking the little board in his hand.

 

“I didn’t! I did it thought correspondence so I had more time to focus on my skating career.”

 

* * *

 

“Is Otabek Altin a DJ?”, Michele Crispino frowns slightly at the words on the board. He should have stayed with Sara. God knows what that idiot Canadian is doing to her.

  
“Yes.”

 

‘Could this guy be any less interesting?’, he muses as Altin faces the camera with a serious expression. ‘We’re meant to entertain, not to bore our fans to death with one word answers.’

 

“You are?”, he tries. Otabek tilts his head just enough so it’s not considered side-eyeing anymore.

 

“Yes.”

 

“But-”

 

“Next question.”

 

* * *

 

“Victor Nikiforov… golden blades?”, the Swiss skater twirls the little board in his hands as Victor clears his throat.

 

“Oh, I love them!”

 

 _‘He really does_ ’, Chris agrees in his mind as he watches his friends’ eyes shine with emotion. ‘ _They are far too extra and shiny. He thinks it distracts people from his forehead_.’

 

“I mentioned them once around Yakov, back when they were a new thing and most people didn’t know about them, and he didn’t approve of it, at all, so I reached out to the company that does my blades and asked them if it was possible to actually skate with them. A few weeks later they got back to me and gave me the blades. Yakov wasn’t sure if I could keep them because of safety reasons but I ended up keeping them.”

 

* * *

 

“Does Phichit Chulanont like to dance?”

 

“Yes I do. I’m a casual dancer, you know, bars and parties and all that, but Yuuri, here, competes from time to time and performed and taught classes in World Dance Camp three times!”

 

“Yeah… I usually go with friends that are more experienced than me in dancing but it was a really fun experience and it was great to meet so many talented people!”

 

* * *

 

“How Yuuri Katsuki… How much is Yuuri Katsuki worth?”

 

“More that I thought I’d ever be.”

 

* * *

 

“Georgi Popovich… Bacon number…”, Mila reads slowly and resorts to bite her own lips in order to laugh immediately.

 

“I… What? I don’t understand… What is a bacon number?”

 

“I think they are talking about that vine of you singing that commercial about bacon…”, she tries to explain before remembering that he had never found out about it.

 

“I don’t know about any vine!”, Georgi insists.

 

She waves a hand dismissively before grabbing a new board. “Oh… Then forget about it…”

 

* * *

 

“What is… What is JJ Style?”, Sara asks and the younger skater strucks his famous ‘J.J.’ pose before winking at the camera.

 

“Everything you need to succeed!”

 

* * *

 

“Mila Babicheva… Mila Babicheva haircut!”

 

“Oh, I have an undercut, as you can see. I love it and I’m really happy with it.”

 

* * *

 

“Is Yuuri Katsuki… Is Yuuri Katsuki dating Eunho Lee Yang?”, Phichit winces once more as he watches the confusion and embarrassment set in Yuuri’s face.

 

“No! We’re just friends.”

 

* * *

 

“Did Chris Giacometti…”, Victor does his best conspiracy theory voice but Chris’ worried expression causes him to break into giggles.

 

“Oh sh-[beep]. Past tense. God, there’s really not a lot I haven’t done. Before I start, I would just like to take the time to tell my kind, loving coach and lawyer that I love and respect them very much.”

 

“Huh. That's very sweet of you Chris.”

“And I do not take any responsibility for any PR disasters that may occur as a result of this interview. Ok you can read it now...”, the Swiss skater adds quickly before Victor can rip off the rest of the paper.

 

“So, did Chris Giacometti dated Victor Nikiforov?”

 

“Seriously? What is wrong with you people?”, Chris’ face is frozen with confusion and disgust.

 

Victor shakes his head towards the camera , fighting off a smile. “Well… Answer the question.”

 

“No. Victor is my best friend and we never saw each other like that.”

 

* * *

 

“Phichit Chulanont… Phichit Chulanont Shall We Skate vine.”

 

“Oh! This vine was just one of the many times when Phichit announced himself by screaming the soundtrack of Shall We Skate. I have many, many clips of him doing it.”

 

“Yes, my son is finally learning how to use social media.”

 

“I know how to use it, I just don’t like it.”

 

“Can you believe this? Kids these days… They’ll say anything just to make their parents sad!”

 

* * *

 

“Is Yuuri Katsuki… Is Yuuri Katsuki dating Phichit Chulanont?”

 

“Once again, no! We’re just friends. Why do people think I’m dating everyone?”

 

* * *

 

“JJ Leroy… instagram!”

 

“I do have an instagram account! It’s jj_style and you should all follow me in all my social media!”

 

* * *

 

“Did Chris Giacometti dated Yuuri Katsuki?”

 

Even Victor looks honestly interested at that question and Chris wants to slap him across the face for believing in his madness.

 

“So people think that when we’re not skating, we’re fucking each other? I mean, Yuuri Katsuki is  _Unfairly Beautiful Yuuri_  and his thighs could kill a man but… The answer is no, that’s just ridiculous. We’re friends and I’m sure Yuuri has other, more interesting,  people to date.”

 

* * *

 

“Who is Yuuri Katsuki? That’s the million dollar question right there already.”, he jokes. It’s their final question and then they can move on to shooting their introduction videos.

“Well I think Yuuri Katsuki is a lot of things- Japanese, skater, ballet dancer, student, cook, dog lover-”, Yuuri starts and Phichit can’t help but to chime in too.

 

“technologically inept, kindest human on earth, cinnamon roll,  _sin_ namon roll...”

 

Yuuri pinches his thigh without ever stop talking. “-but who Yuuri Katsuki is not and refuses to be is to be manipulated by others, a quitter or rude to others.”

 

From across the camera, all the crew member seem a little thrown off balance with the sudden sincerity and ruthlessness.

 

“Wow, that got too real and too deep way too quickly.” Phichit mumbles before making a fake crying face. “This is the internet Yuuri, you might hurt people's feelings!”

 

* * *

 

Behind the camera, someone yells out that they are done and that the next group is coming through.

 

“So, it wasn’t that bad, was it?”, Phichit asks as they are rushed to a different room.

 

“Not really. But we aren’t done just yet…”


	7. I'm Trying But They're Hot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After God knows how long, I'M BACK!!! 
> 
> Well... not really. I wrote this mini chapter just to assure you that i didn't forgot nor abandoned the story and that, despite uni life and work and personal life, I'm still working on it and trying to write something you guys will enjoy.
> 
> As always, English is not my first language. This is all in good fun and all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Comments help me write and find inspiration! Thank you for reading!

Yuuri was seriously displeased at the fact he had to do another photo shoot. The fact he had to do photo-shoots in the first place was totally uncalled for. He hated it. He hated how chubby his cheeks looked on camera, how his face glowed so much more than everyone else’s, making him look like he was drenching in oil, and how unnatural all the poses were.

"So why am I doing this?" Yuuri asked Celestino. He sighed and watched as Carla, one of the many brands’ representatives, fussed over the lighting, the camera men, the background and basically everything else.

"I know doing this is making you uncomfortable but it only takes a few minutes so sit back and try to have fun. It will make investors happy", he said quietly so the many workers around them couldn't hear him.

The young athlete again sighed and muttered under his breath.

Celestino stepped back as soon as Carla approached him and, before Yuuri could say anything, he was already across the room, chatting with Phichit.

"Yuuri! Darling! Come here-"

He stood out like a sore thumb, standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by big green screens and black bags that, according to Carla, were filled with handpicked clothes for each skater to use during the following days.

At one point, Celestino left and it was just himself, Carla and the photo-shoot guys and the Yuuri felt a slight feeling that this day was never going to end. Everything was moving both too fast and too slow for his anxious brain to process completely.

Carla moved out the background and so did the others. Someone gave him his cue and, as the photographer snapped away, he smiled and twisted his body into whichever weird and unnatural position he was asked to reproduce. The last photo was the most torturous; he was facing forward, biting his lip but looking left as if he was staring at someone. Carla squealed each time the camera flashed.

‘Oh God, she must think I look insane!’

"Alright, I think that's enough today Yuuri" the photographer said. He nodded and walked back to the makeup chair. "That last one will be on t-shirts and billboards."

Yuuri blinked and his mouth was gaping.

"T-shirts? Billboards?" he asked, thinking he hadn't heard correctly the first time.

"Yep, that's right." the photographer said.

“I thought this was just… Youtube ads and magazines!” Yuuri said, pulling his arm away from the makeup artists and standing up from his chair.

“Yes, my darling, but that’s for the other pictures!”, Carla explained in a high pitched tone. “But the best pictures deserve to be where everyone can see them! Now sit back down so we can take off all that makeup.”

 

* * *

 

 

Victor hated this.

He usually enjoyed doing photo-shoots. It was fun playing with new clothes and makeup looks and his fans also seem to enjoy seeing his work.

However, as long as Victor was stuck in a room posing for the cameras, he wouldn't be able to see all the new outfits Yuuri had got and, if the way his phone was going off was anything to go by, Chris had already caught up with the Japanese skater.

“Don’t frown, Victor!”, Elliot, one of the makeup artists, tsked in his general direction. “It will give you wrinkles!”

Victor did his best to coach his face muscles into a nicer, more peaceful, expression and silently prayed for his release.

Eventually, as all things do, the photo-shoot came to an end and he was let go just in time to find Chris chatting away with Mila.

“Are you done too?”, he asked, not really thinking about it, just trying to fill in the gap in the conversation caused by his arrival.

Chris, however, was far too excited to make small talk. “Have you seen what I sent you?”

“No, I came running to meet you.”

Chris grumbled under his breath something about priorities and grabbed Victor’s phone in one swift motion. Soon, the little black screen was displaying dozens of photos and short clips of Yuuri in his new outfits.

“Oh God, this is it. This will be my doom!“ Victor exclaimed, sounding both exasperated and blessed. Next to him, Mila laughed so hard she snorted.

“Huh,” Chris said thoughtfully. “Well, you’re taking this better than I thought you would.” He exchanged looks with Mila who was still recovering from Victor’s reaction.”

“What is it?”, Victor whined, clutching at the phone as if he hoped to actually touch Yuuri through the screen.

“They are using one of Yuuri’s photos for a billboard, or so I've heard. He’s wearing a suit. A _real suit,_ Victor.”, Chris whispered like it was the biggest secret in the world.

“Write my will. I leave everything to Makka.”

“Including your satin robes and face masks?”, Mila inquired, clearly amused.

“Especially the satin robes and face masks”, Victor mumbled before snapping out of his thoughts. He focused his gaze on Chris and motioned towards his phone. “So? Show me.”

Chris laughed.

“If you feel you’re falling, protect your head before you hit the ground.”

The look of horror on Victor’s face was priceless.

“Right,” Chris said with a laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.

Victor was dead.

He died and went to heaven.

No, scratch that. He died and went to hell because, surely, in heaven he would have Yuuri next to him at all times and Makka and Yuuri’s own poodle would be around too and they would all be one happy family.

Victor died and went to hell where he can only see Yuuri through photos.

“Victor, are you having a stroke?”

“Maybe.”, he answered meekly.

“God bless us all, everyone. God bless us.”


	8. This Is Everything I Never Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yura is back. Also Lila makes a cameo appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just another quick chapter. hope it isn't too messy or confusing. I wrote this on the train on my way home so pls excuse my mistakes and weird format. i'll see y'all sometime next week. until then, pls leave me some nice comments! byeeeee

It was only the second day but Yuuri was already exhausted. They had spent the day before surrounded by cameras and changing outfits every ten minutes and the coaches (Yakov, above everyone else) decided that they had to catch up the lost time by drilling them into the ice with awful, brand new, endurance exercises. He was sure he was about to die when Yakov was suddenly called to the Junior’s building and, half an hour later, one of the other coaches released them for the rest of the day.

Phichit, who, at the time, was already conspiring with Sara Crispino in order to form a gossip-collecting network inside the camp, mentioned something about Yakov’s youngest main skater, Plisetsky being in trouble. Yuuri decided to ignore them and head straight to the showers.

Bad move.

By the time he reached the cafeteria’s bathroom, Plisetsky was already in there. Yuuri was moments away from turning around and walk away before the younger boy could notice him but, just as he touched the bathroom’s door, it creaked and Yuri turned on him with a snarl.

Yuuri suppressed a squeal when Plisetsky reached out to fist his hands in the shirt beneath his open jacket. The boy was way too close for comfort, all flashing eyes and bared teeth.

And, for the first time ever, Yuuri realized how disturbed he was. Lots of anger but, above all, desperation.

“What are you looking at, fatso?”

“I… I was just leaving.”, he mumbled as he struggled to move away.

“Are you here to celebrate my leaving? Did that idiot Kenjirou rushed to tell you about how I punched him in the face?”, his hands twisted around the soft fabric of Yuuri’s shirt, making the collar dig into his skin. Yuuri tried not to think much of it. “You can laugh now but I will beat you and Nikiforov next season, even if I have to find another coach, you hear me?”

“I’m not here to laugh at you.”

It took Yuuri a moment to consciously recognise the voice that had said it was his own.

Yuri exploded again, this time leaning forward, but Yuuri, still not feeling quite like himself from the oddity of this entire situation, and probably only because of that, ignored the reaction, and stared down at him till he stopped yelling.

And, eventually, he did. He was still quivering in fury, but he did finally fall silent.

“I would never laugh at anyone. I hope you can fix this, Yuri. You are a good skater and you have the talent to beat us all, like you want to.” The boy wasn’t expecting that reaction, and that was very obvious, as he released Yuuri almost immediately.

“But not like this. Not with this attitude. You have to let people help you.” Yuuri almost whispered and it was enough for the younger skater to start shaking again.

“Like I said, I hope you can fix this. The sponsors like you; Russia likes you. Apologize and I’m sure they will let you stay.”

Yuri just stared at him, lowering his hands slowly, and said nothing and Yuuri stared back awkwardly.

“Right.” Yuuri shrugged before spinning on his heel and trying not to look like he was fleeing.

 

* * *

 

“Yuuri, what are you doing?” Phichit asked as he peeked into their room. Yuuri was lying on his bed, laying face down, showing no signs of further movement or life for that matter.

“Yuuri,” Phichit tried again, his voice gentle, as he walked slowly over to the bed to sit down beside Yuuri. “Is everything ok?”

“I found Yuri in the bathroom. Sara was right. They are sending him home.” Yuuri whispered, lifting up his face, and Phichit saw how pale he looked. “He did hit another skater, it was Kenjirou, and now they are sending back to Russia.”

“Oh. Did he- Is everything ok? Did he yelled at you again?”

“Kinda? But…”

“But?”, Phichit tried to coach him into full sentences.

Eventually, Yuuri turned around in bed until he was staring at the ceiling.

“He was… sad. He was angry and desperate. I think he might had seen this as a way to prove himself. That- that maybe he could use this to show Mr. Feltsman that he is ready to move onto seniors but now…”

“Ah.”

They laid in silence but Yuuri supposed awkward silence was better than awkward explanations of why Yuuri cared so much about a angst-ridden pre-teen from across the world that kept insulting him.

 

* * *

 

 

A few hours later, Phichit was still sitting next to him - both in a dark corner of their shared bedroom and…

Sneaky, he looked around.

...about to snatch Yuuri’s phone from his very own hands.

“Phichit!” the Japanese boy squealed, eyes wide open, staring at the empty space in his still opened hand. “I was reading that!”

“You were taking too long.” he complained with a shameless smile. “Besides, my phone died and I want to see if they already posted our videos.”

Yuuri was about to, if not get back his phone, at least, complain about the theft but, before he could even begin, Lilia Baranovskaya stormed into the room, followed suit by Mr. Feltsman. Both boys scrambled to their feet and tried to clean themselves up.

“Mr. Katsuki and Mr. Chulanont.” Yakov’s voice was rough, rougher in real life than it seemed on tv, and Yuuri had to fight back the urge to step back.

“Uh… Hi? Are you looking for Ciao- I mean, Celestino?”, Phichit asked, eyes jumping between each face.

“No. We are here to speak with Mr. Katsuki”, Yakov corrected, staring into Phichit’s eyes. “In private.”

“Oh… Sure.”, Phichit turned around to face Yuuri. “Shouldn’t Celestino be here?”

“I don’t think we require his presence for now.”, this time it was Lilia’s turn to speak, her voice rough with a heavy accent overlaying the English words. Not nearly as fluid as Victor or Yakov himself, but Yuuri suspected that was out of personal preference, not unfamiliarity with the language.

‘If she’s trying to go for intimidation, she’s succeeding’, Yuuri mused in the quietness of his mind.

“But we can talk to him later on.”, she added, as if to assure Phichit.

Yuuri sighed, and lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck awkwardly as he watched his friend step outside.

“How can I help you?”

“You met Yuri earlier today”, Lilia offered as if it was a perfectly acceptable explanation for her presence in his room.

‘ _Oh God. What if he told them that I insulted him? What if they are going to send me home too?_ ’

“Uh… I did.” he said meekly.

“Yura said you told him to apologize. That he could do better.”

“He told you that?”, he found himself shooting back.

“Not exactly”, she granted and Yuuri fought the urge to roll his eyes. Not in a million years, Plisetsky would admit to being told what to do by someone as unimportant as Yuuri. “You know Mr. Minami, don’t you, Mr. Katsuki?”

“We’ve met, Madame, but we haven’t talk much until now.”

“Aren’t you happy that the boy who hurt your friend is being sent away?”, she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“No.”

His answer came short and clear and so strong that even Yakov couldn’t stop himself from being startled. Still, Yuuri continued.

“I am sad that this happened. Minami is a nice child and a good skater, and he doesn’t deserve this treatment, but I’m never happy to see a fellow skater being sent away. What I told Yuri is true. I think he has the talent and the motivation to be better but, as long as he keeps this attitude, he won’t go very far.”

Lilia hummed as she trade glances with Yakov.

“But I still don’t understand how I can help you.”, the Japanese skater insisted. He was tired and his head felt heavy on his shoulders. All he wanted was a peaceful night of rest and no russian skaters around him.

Besides that, Yuuri was Yuuri. He couldn’t help anyone.

Yuuri didn’t mind it.

There were certain truths in life that he had learnt to accept a long time ago.

Yuuri would never learn to make small talk without turning red or saying something he shouldn’t; he will always try to ignore his problems until they went away, no matter how many times he tells himself that it doesn't help him; Yuuri will always have a chubby face and large thighs no matter how strict his diet is or how much he works out; he will never be as good-looking as most ice skaters in his league, no matter what he wears or how much gel he uses in his hair and, while his performances’ artistic aspects are good, his jumps are a mess and, thus, he could never help anyone to improve their skating skills.

And, if that wasn’t enough, Yuuri never wanted to have that kind of attention. He wasn’t ok with having his entire life exposed for the whole world to see. He wasn’t good enough for it and he had learnt to accept it.

“He knew that if he broke even just one rule, he would be sent home. He hit another skater and he refused to apologize; he defied his coach and his ballet teacher, all in one day.” the older woman countered after a while.

She seemed somewhat amused, in a way, with Yuuri’s sudden courage.

“Yuri is young and he’ll soon be a senior. He could benefit from staying. Maybe by learning how to control his anger.” This time, Yuuri could clearly see a slight glimmer in her eyes.

‘ _She thinks it’s funny that I’m talking back._ ’, his brain realized, somewhere in the mist of anxiety and confusion. ‘ _But why?_ ’

“I do not work with petulant boys, Mr. Katsuki. I work with capable young people who want to become ballerinas and danseurs.”

“I know, Madame.”, he bowed his head slightly. Yuuri grew up adoring Ms. Baranovskaya, as it was practically a prerequisite to train under Minako’s guidance. He would never, ever, doubt or imply anything depreciative about her talent and worth.

“I wish- I want to help, Madame.”

Lilia stared at him for a few seconds, as if she was deciding if she should answer him or not, and, at last, asked “How?”

Yuuri felt the blood freeze inside his veins.

“I… I have a tight schedule but my training sessions end around five so I can practice everyday with Yuri until dinner.” The words were falling off his tongue before he could stop them. “If he promises to behave, I can try to ask Miss Bridgerton to take him back to her classes so they won’t have to send him home early.”

‘ _Oh God, what am I doing?_ ’

“I see… Yakov told me you dance too.”

‘ _What am I doing? Yuuri, stop it!_ ’

“Yes, Madam. I started learning when I was three, under the guidance of Okukawa Minako. She is the one who encouraged me to go into figure skating, and often accompanies me on late night practice sessions either at her studio or at Ice Castle Hasetsu, my local rink back in Japan.”

‘ _Oh God, why am I telling her all this? Why am I even trying to help Plisetsky?_ ’

“Okukawa Minako is a great ballerina. I’ve worked with her briefly in a play during her time in France and I find her work fascinating.” Lilia looked into his eyes as if searching for even just a dash of fear before turning around. “Meet me in twenty minutes in the ballet room and we’ll see if you’re any good to teach Yuri.”

“Thank you, Madam.”, he found himself whispering as she walked away, followed suit by Yakov.

_‘Oh fuck.’_

_‘Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck.’_

_‘What have I done?’_

_‘I shouldn’t have done that.’_

_'Plenty of other people could help him.'_

' _I can't even teach a ballet class!_ '

“Yuuri?”, Phichit’s voice filled the room as he rushed to his side. “What happened? What did they want?”

‘ _I’m dead. She’ll either turn me away and I’ll disappoint Minako-sensei or Plisetsky is going to kill me by the end of the week._ ’

“Yuuri?”, Phichit touched Yuuri’s shoulder as to bring him back to the land of living. “What is going on?”

“I’m going to teach Plisetsky how to dance ballet.”, he whispered, half-hoping that, if he was quiet enough, the universe wouldn’t hear him and make it come true.

“You’re what?”, Celestino’s deep voice rang in their ears, catching their attention.

‘ _Oh fuck._ ’


	9. It’s Unnecessary But It Establishes Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> title relates to Victor's reaction (you'll see).
> 
> (also pls read the end notes. thx)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I know nothing of ballet. I asked a friend of mine for the very basics and this is what came out. I apologize in advance.

Lilia is impressed.

She will never admit it, obviously. But she is impressed.

Yuuri is a good dancer.

Good enough to make her want to curse whoever convinced him into following ice skating instead of ballet. Good enough to make her proud of hearing him say “I was inspired by your work, Madam. Minako-sensei adores you and your work is very impressive.”

Minako Okukawa, his teacher, was a great ballerina in her time as well. She won a Benois de la Dance before her retirement and Lilia still remembers watching her dance across the stage, young and delicate and talented.

Besides that, Yuuri clearly has a lot of talent. His technical aspects seem to fail and crumble most of the times but he always picks himself up with his artistic qualities and even the coldest of soul sings while seeing Yuuri dance.

Maybe she can talk to Yakov about helping Yuuri with his jumps.

“You will do.”

He seems relieved and so does Celestino, who refused to step outside while Yuuri danced.

“I can’t be here at all times, unfortunately. I will travel Friday morning and will only return Monday night. I want you to plan Yuri’s classes so we can review it before his first class.”

He nodded along, this time less sure of himself. Next to him, Celestino complained about the extra work and wasted time.

“I will not intervene during the classes, unless you are doing something terribly wrong. Instead, we will have short meetings after each class with Yakov and other staff members to talk about Yuri’s situation. If he improves, he can stay. If he doesn’t, he will be sent home.”

“Yes, Madame.”

“We should go now to meet Yakov.”

 

* * *

 

“And why do I have to learn from this fat-“

“Enough!” Yakov sudden outburst, sent the young skater into absolute silence. “You will listen to Mr Katsuki and what he has to teach you. You wanted this, right? Wanted to improve yourself? Well Mr Katsuki here has offered his help and if you mistreat him or anyone else again you will be on your own, understood?”

“Understood,” Yuri granted after a moment. He does his best to look up at his coach’s face but the way he blinks furiously gives him away and makes him look like a little child that got caught stealing cookies before dinner. “My apologies, Katsuki.”

“Please, call me Yuuri.”

“But I’m Yuri! There’s no place for two Yuris here!”, the teen threatened to explode one more and Celestino frowned at his wails.

“This is going to be confusing,” Yakov complained under his breath after Yuuri tried to explain the difference between his name and Plisetsky’s.

“Uh… In Japan, some people call him Yurio.” All eyes focused on him and suddenly Yuuri felt like he was closer than ever to getting punched by the Russian Fairy. “The -o at the end is used in male names and it sounds different from Yuuri.”

“Perfect! From now on, Yuri is Yurio.”, Lilia declared, looking far too pleased than she should be.

“Wait! Why do I have to be Yurio? I was here first! he should be Yurio!” he roared, pointing a finger to Yuuri, who seemed confused on what was going on.

“Well in all fairness not only was Yuuri born first, but he was approached by Lilia first, and we wouldn’t want to inconvenience Lilia, now would we?” Yakov asks and steps back to avoid getting hit by Yuri’s fist.

“Yes. Mr. Katsuki shall be Yuuri and you, Yuri, can choose between Yurio and Yura”, Lilia added and Celestino could see she was trying to keep a straight face but not being very successful. 

“You can’t call me Yura!”, the young skater roared once more, face turning redder and redder each second that passed by.

This time, it was Yakov’s turn to speak. “Then it’s decided. You shall be Yurio and Mr. Katsuki shall be Yuuri, to avoid confusions.”

Plisetsky had anything to say, and it was obvious he did, Yakov had managed to shut him up, at least, for now.

“The junior’s activities end at five thirty and your class will be taking place everyday from six to eight. Lilia and Celestino are going to supervise the class.”

The boy grunted, what Yuuri imagined being, several insults in Russian but it mostly went ignored by the coaches as he was dragged away from the room.

“Thank you for your help, Yuuri”, Lilia said as she was leaving. This time she was smiling slightly and Yuuri could see where the young, loving and cheerful looking woman in Minako-sensei’s pictures had gone.

He smiled back and bowed before her. “It’s a pleasure, Madame.”

 

* * *

 

“Yuri stop pacing around and go to bed already, it’s late!”, Yakov barged into the bedroom, looking less angry and somewhat relieved now that Yuri’s problem is solved.

“I thought you had a plane to catch.” Victor, inopportune, annoying Victor, leaned against the wooden frame and peaked inside. He was wearing his official tracksuit but his hair was styled back with a crazy amount of gel, probably from yet another photoshoot.

Viktor’s presence, despite everything, made his life tolerable.

It felt nice to have someone around to talk to, someone a little closer to your age than your grandfather or your skating coach. Yuri had hero worshiped Victor for as long as he could recollect. So much so that he'd tried to copy every aspect of Victor’s demeanor, starting with his ‘don’t listen to anyone, be unpredictable’ motto and all the way to growing his blonde locks to match Victor’s once-long silky silver hair.

(He had been furious when Victor cut his hair without giving so much as a single explanation.)

Still, it was while watching Yuuri that Yuri had declared his true love for figure skating. He was only three years old when, during a rainy afternoon, his grandpa accidentally changed his cartoons to the news. The old man was about to change it back before little Yuri could complain when the boy pointed to the young asian skater on the TV.

His grandfather keeps reminding him of how entranced he had been back then; how he held his breath for most of the performance and how he giggled every time Yuuri jumped.

Ever since then, Yuri watched each one of Yuuri’s performances.

Yuri supported Yuuri no matter what and was always very upset, angry even, when the older skater failed to win the competitions. But last season Yuuri made it to the finals, to the Worlds and he landed second.

Yuri wasn’t just happy. He was fucking proud.

And now…

Now Yuri had Yuuri all to himself. The older skater had offered his help and they would be practicing together two hours a day, while Victor was still being forced to stay away.

Besides, he couldn't just leave. Not if it meant that Victor would have a clear path to Yuuri.

‘No. I’ll play ball if it has to be. I’ll put up with that idiot Minami and Victor’s antics and JJ’s bullshit. Hell, I’ll put up with that hag for the rest of the camp if that means Yuuri sees me.’, the boy thought before turning to look at Victor.

“You thought wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve come to an agreement and Yuri is staying.” Yakov explains before turning to meet his older trainee. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to say my goodbyes to Yura but I see it’s no longer necessary. What made them change their minds?”

“Celestino’s skater, Katsuki, offered to teach Yuri how to dance; this way Yuri will still technically meet the programme’s required hours of training per day.”

Yuri is slightly upset that he didn’t got to tell Victor that Yuuri will be teaching him but Yakov’s resolute voice makes it all more official and, this way, Victor can’t accuse him of lying.

He also gets to see Victor’s blinding smile crumble apart.

“What?”

“This doesn’t concern you, Vitya. Go to bed and rest.” It’s a clear warning but Victor even begin to care. Luckily, a kid next door calls out for help and Yakov rushes out the door before he can say anything else.

“Yuuri is going to teach you to dance?”, Victor insists, speaking slowly as if testing the words in his mouth.

“Yes. He offered to teach me and the old hag says it’s fine.” the teen crosses his arms over his chest and gives him his best smirk. “Why? Are you jealous?”

Victor steps forward knowing he shouldn’t and, most importantly, knowing this won’t be his proudest moment. Still, Yuri is standing in front of him, practically celebrating his victory in this childish war for Yuuri’s affection and Victor is too stubborn to let it go.

“Jealous of what, Yura?”, he makes a spectacle of how he’s leaning down to meet Yuri’s face and, for a moment, he’s certain he’s going to get punched. Nonetheless, he lives Yuri his best ‘golden medal’ smile. “I’m not here to be noticed. I’m here to get a date with Yuuri and, the last time I checked, he’s not into fourteen years old kids.

Victor walks away before the younger boy can grab his collar and steps outside as Yuri’s gym bag hits the door behind him.

He’s not exactly proud of what he just did but he certainly doesn’t regrets it.

All is fair in love and war, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading.
> 
> This chapter was really hard for me to write because I felt like this is something Victor would both do and never do at the same time. In the series we see that Victor is very protective and even a tiny little bit possessive of Yuuri and that what I was trying to bring into the story. Like I've said, Victor *knows* he shouldn't play along and mess with Yuri, because Yuri is just a kid and he's already in enough trouble as it is, but Victor is also a young and very inexperienced when it comes to love and personal relationships.
> 
> Ok that's the "disclaimer" for today. Please tell me your opinion about this chapter down below!!!
> 
> i'll see y'all next friday


	10. This is too intense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to update this chapter. Long story short: got sick, had to spend a night at the hospital and exams/finals are coming up so i've been struggling a little.
> 
> this entire thing is supposed to be like... the next day? but also after their daily tasks, so at night. just a quick look into yuri and yuuri's relationship.
> 
> thank you for your comments and support!

Yuuri was tired.

After his talk with Ciao Ciao, Yakov, Madam and Yuri, Phichit had wanted to know what the agreement was and why on Earth Yuuri was doing that for a kid who had been nothing but rude towards him.

(He still didn’t have a good answer to that second part.)

When Phichit finally let him go, Yuuri was too tired to move from his bed but too nervous to sleep which brought him to his current situation: watching Yuri’s performances on Youtube.

(He never thought he’d say it, but thank God for Yuri’s Angels. Only they could upload every single performance that Yuri ever made, each one of them recorded from, at least, five different angles.)

Yurio, Yuuri thought as he watched the boy perform yet another fast paced classic piece, was the complete opposite of himself.

While Yuuri was good at showing emotion, at telling stories with his body, but flopped on most jumps, Yurio was great at jumps and landings but terrible in adapting his body language to whatever choreography he was doing. He was also too stiff most of the time, as if all he was trying to do was going from point A to point B as fast as possible.

‘Doing some footwork will help’, he thought, finally letting himself fall back into a pile of pillows. In the bed next to him, Phichit slept peacefully, under the impression that Yuuri himself was asleep too. ‘Maybe start from scratch with ballet too.’

The young japanese skater thought of how he would never hear the end of it if Phichit saw him awake. And he was getting sleepy, so maybe he’d fall asleep and worry about Yurio in a few hours.

 

* * *

 

 

“You’re late!” Yuri roared, making both Yuuri and Lilia clutch their heart in shock. They had met briefly before Yuri’s first lesson to go over Yuuri’s notes on what could help the younger boy and they had lost the track of time.

Lilia was about to scold the younger boy when Yuuri himself eyed the clock on the wall, which marked a few seconds past their schedule time.

“You are right. I’ll be sure to make up that half a minute. That’s a promise.”

Yuri let out an audible growl at Lilia’s barely hidden laughs, before turning his nose up at the older man.

“Have you stretched yet?”

Yuri stomped a foot on the ground and Yuuri couldn’t help but to mentally compare him to a five years old kid who thinks they can argue with their parents. “I’ve been stretching since five thirty! Are you going to teach me or not?”

Yuuri took a deep breath and did his best to picture Minako-sensei’s face inside his head. He waited for Lilia to seat down across the room before turning to the russian athlete.

“First position.” His voice was so dry and uninterested that even he had trouble identifying it.

“What?” Yuri’s face was of absolute confusion and that alone made Yuuri want to smile. If the russian teen wanted to a serious and strict teacher, he would be as serious and strict as he could.

“We’ve begun. Get into first position.” Yuuri repeated.

The blond changed his stance and watched as Yuuri walked around him, adjusting his stance accordingly.

“Okay, second position.” The teen moved once more and Yuuri adjusted him again before humming.

“Third position” Yuri brought his right arm in again, and brought his left leg in front of his right leg. Once again, Yuuri adjusted his body before proceeding.

“Fourth position.” Yuuri tapped the toes of the teen’s foot, prompting him to cross his left leg over the other even further, and ignored as the Yuri cursed at him in russian.

“And fifth position.” Yuri brought his left arm up to match his right. Yuuri walked around the blonde once more. “Again, first position.”

The two went back and forth from first to fifth position and back again for hours. They kept repeating the same process over and over again until Yuri managed to execute each position without Yuuri needing to move him into place.

Once the older skater was satisfied, he showed the younger skater how to perform various moves, all of them with stupid french names that Yuuri could pronounce perfectly but that made Yuri himself bite his own tongue every time he tried.

The teen threw himself onto the ground as soon as Yuuri called for him to stop, cursing him in russian in between breaths.

 

* * *

 

Madame had left a long time ago to meet with Celestino with the excuse that they had to work something out for the final show.

(Both boys were certain that she was just trying to keep the Italian coach away from them. Yuuri couldn’t fault her.)

They weren’t actually doing anything but Yuri was still there, looking at him, less angry than before, as if he was expecting him to say something and Yuuri decided to try his luck.

“We need to talk about Minami.” He started and the younger boy started grumbling once again.

“I already said I wasn’t going to hit him again.”

“I know. I don’t expect you to do so but I need to know if this is something that will come up again. I can’t waste time teaching you while knowing that tomorrow morning you could punch someone again and be sent home.”

“It won’t”, Yuri assured, grinding his teeth.

“Still, I need to know. I can’t assure your instructors that I won’t do something like this again if I don’t know what even brought this up.”

Yuri glared at him as if trying to decide if he should punch him or not. The older boy had to consciously force himself to not step back.

They started at each other for a minute or so in silence until Yuri finally broke. “It was about you.”

“What?”

“You. They were talking shit about you.”

“Who was?”

Yuri closed his hands into tight fists. He looked exasperated with Yuuri's lack of comprehension, as if his behaviour was the most obvious and natural thing in the universe and everyone else was just not  seeing it.

“For fucksakes, the other juniors were talking shit about you, Katsudon. They were saying Giacometti should’ve won instead of you, that it was a fluke and that you can’t skate for shit.”

Yuuri blinked slowly, as he tried to process this newly found piece of information.

“A lot of people don’t agree with my scores all the time. It still doesn’t explains why you punched Minami.”, the Japanese skater insisted. He couldn’t imagine Minami trash talking him, not after the countless letters he had sent him or how excited he was the first time they met. It just wasn't plausible.

“Because he didn’t stand up for you! What kind of fan is he if he lets people talk shit about you?”, Yuri growled, face red with anger and eyes open wide.

“I can fight my own battles, Yurio. You shouldn’t go around punching people who offend me.” Yuuri sat on the ground in front of Yuri and fought back a smile and the younger boy mirrored him almost immediately. “And mind your language. Madam is in the room next door and she might hear you.”

Yuri didn’t seem very pleased but lowered his voice nonetheless. “Why don’t you care?”

“Why do you?”

The teenager blinked back at him, lips pursed together. “I don’t give a shit about what people say about you.”

“You clearly do, Yurio, otherwise you wouldn’t have punched someone, knowing that you could get in trouble for it.”

“I always get in trouble for punching people.” Yuri actually looked upset at that, as if someone tricked him into living in society by not telling him that violence wasn't accepted, and he now couldn't go back to wherever he was before.

“That’s usually how life works, yes, but you know that’s not what I meant.”

Yuri eyed the door for a moment before sighing softly. “You don’t suck completely. Your jumps suck but you footwork is good. You tell stories while skating, even if it’s sappy ones, and judges like that.”

And that Yuuri wasn't expecting.

Obviously, he knew that he was an ok skater. He worked hard and always tried his best and it payed off most of the times (at least, until they got to big time competitions and he let himself cave in from the pressure).

Still, hearing Yuri Plisetsky, of all people, compliment his skating was unexpected, to say the least.

“People can’t talk shit about you like that.” the boy added, this time more to himself than to Yuuri.

“But they can, Yurio. That’s what liberty of speech means. People are entitled to their opinion.”

“Well they shouldn’t be. They are just jealous.”

Yuuri couldn’t help but to laugh, which prompt the younger boy to glare at him once more. “No one is jealous of me, Yurio.”

“Are you really that stupid?”

He was mad and Yuuri couldn’t understand why. Sure, Yuri seemed to like him but most people didn’t even took notice of him so how could anyone on Earth be jealous of him?

“What’s that ugly pig face for? Do you actually think that no one gives a shit?”

“We’re done for today.” Yuuri threw a quick glance at the clock behind him and stretched out his arms, groaning slightly at the loud pops coming from his back. “I want to dance some more but you can go on.”

“Can I stay?” Yuri’s voice came out rushed, as if the words had slipped through his teeth and the really didn’t meant to say them.

“What?”

“Are you deaf? I asked if I can stay to watch you dance.”

“Uh, sure. But I wasn’t… I’m not gonna dance ballet. It’s from an old project actually.”

“Oh.” Yuri eyed the door once more before pulling a hand from his back pocket and extending it to Yuuri. “Whatever it is, I wanna see.”

Yuuri takes his hand and pulls up off the cold floor.

 

* * *

 

“The thing is, I know I’m being ridiculous. I get it, I’m worrying about nothing,” Phichit says as he cooks hash browns and eggs for Yuuri and Yuri (because they are both insane and always overwork themselves). “But at the same time, I’m not. This is my son! I can’t let a teenager bully him, even if they are a medalled russian skater.”

Sara arched an eyebrow at him. “I'm sure Yuuri can take care of himself.”

Phichit wobbled his spatula back and forth. “Of course he can! Yuuri is strong and brave and...”

“And scary.” Sara sipped her coffee as she analysed the glare Phichit was shooting at her. “I know you know Yuuri better than I do but Yuuri, despite everything, can be a very intimidating individual himself. I mean, you saw him during the last competition! He walked into the room like he owns all of us!”

“This doesn't get mentioned to anyone outside of this room,” he said, checking if they had both turned off their mic.

“Sure...” Sara nodded.

Phichit actually did the double look around the room to make sure that no one was around to hear him. “It’s the anxiety.”

“What?”

“It’s the anxiety”, he finally says with a wince at the pan of potatoes he was poking at. “Yuuri’s anxiety is… complicated and it’s really not my place to try and explain it to others but, when he gets too nervous, his brain just… shuts down. It focus on whatever is making him worry, skating competitions, for example, and completely ignores everything, and everyone, else.”

Sara’s eyes were wide open and the Thai skater could practically see the metaphorical light bulb go off over her head. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Phichit pointed the spatula at Sara. “Whatever people have told you about him, whatever you read about him, it’s not true, Sara. It’s not.”

“I didn’t thought it was.” She argued, clearly upset at the accusation. Yuuri was her friend. She might not know him the way Phichit does (she doesn’t think anyone does, really) but she likes him and would never think that badly of him. “I was just saying that Yuuri can look intimidating, even if it’s unintentional. I think that, if Plisetsky bothers him, he can take care of it.”

Phichit scowled at Sara as he grabbed a plate for himself. “Whatever. I’m not letting Plisetsky, or Yakov, or Nikiforov, for that matters, hurt Yuuri.”

“I don’t think you’re the only one thinking that way.” She granted, grabbing a spoonful of eggs before turning around. “They must be done with practice by now, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, let’s get this to the table before the russian punk starts screaming.”


	11. Quick warning (not a chapter, sorry)

Guys, I hate doing this because I hate giving excuses for failing at doing something but I truly believe you guys need an explanation and a promise that I'm not abandoning this fic.

So... My life has been a mess lately. As you guys know, I got sick. A few days later (literally the next Monday) a family member of mine was rushed to the hospital and died the same Friday. They were sick and we knew that, at their age, the chances of recovery were slim but their departure was so damn fast that we had no time to prepare ourselves. Because I was sick, I couldn't go see them at the hospital and that hurts me a lot.

I'm also working full time because of the holidays and with exams and my driving license exam coming up, I haven't been in the right state of mind to write.

This being said, I'm staying away from both Tumblr and ao3 until the end of January. I need to get my life in order before I can write. My blog will be running on queue but my ao3 account will be left alone for the next month or so.

I'm not abandoning this story. I'm not. But I need time before I can offer you guys the story you guys deserve.

I wish you all a lovely time with your loved ones and a good new year. Take care of yourselves.

Love,  
Daniela


	12. Ask And You Shall Receive… Sometime Next Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im back... Sort of? This is just a small uhhh taste of the next chapter. I've been struggling with getting back to write this story, despite knowing what I want to happen next. I hope you like it.

Yuuri’s days tended to go awry and definitely not the way he’d intended them to go.

 

Sometimes he’d stay up too late and overslept, which forced him to throw on the first thing his hand could reach and run to class looking like a trash monster. Other days, his anxiety would come back with vengeance, turning his tongue into sandpaper and the oxygen inside his lungs into dust. On the days that he didn’t pull his own leg, he was forced to meet up with strangers (either through group projects for classes or through Celestino, who insisted that he could never have enough partnerships) which definitely wasn’t something he enjoyed.

 

However, the worst of it all had nothing to do with him getting late but everything with him getting anxious and fucking himself over: Yuuri, as a professional skater, had people hoping for his victories. Truth be told, it wasn’t that many people (in fact, most people usually didn’t look at him twice, let alone remember his name) but there were some and Yuuri hates letting people down.

 

So, when Yuuri offered (Phichit argues that Lilia tricked him into offering his help but that’s not something one should say about Miss  Baranovskaya) to help Yurio, he knew people, such as Mr. Feltsman and Miss Baranovskaya, were expecting a quick and obvious to see improvement.

 

Thankfully, as it turns out, Yurio is a better pupil once he gets into it. There is still a slight attitude problem but he’s dedicated and works hard at whatever Yuuri told him to do. Yurio also strives for approval, Yuuri noticed, and does far better with short but honest compliments after a productive class than with constant incentives. He’s also flexible enough already (“Oh! To be young!”, Phichit had cried out and Yuuri didn’t have the heart to tell him that he had never been that flexible to begin with) and in a good physical state, which meant that they didn’t have to waste too much time stretching him and molding his body.

 

(All in all, Yuuri had been lucky with his first and, hopefully, only student.)

 

Another positive mark on Yurio’s record was his subtle but deeply appreciated change of behaviour ever since Yuuri had started teaching him. His (official) ballet teacher had granted him a second chance (even if all the junior skaters hadn’t been so easy to convince and tried to keep a safe distance at all times) and, after only two days, it was clear for everyone to see that Yurio was trying to play by the rules.

 

So, when the fifth day of training came around, everything seemed to be turning out great: the training sessions were going smoothly and everyone had already finished creating their choreographies; yuuri had managed to avoid both Victor and Chris (and J.J., which was a nice extra for sure); the fans were reacting very positively to their daily vlogs and variety videos and Lilia was pleased with Yurio’s evolution so far.

 

Yuuri resisted thinking about it in fear of jinxing it, but he walked around the entire day with a slight bounce; his voice was chirpier than usual and his smile slid on his face more easily the later in the day it was. He had no scheduled activities for after the night so, by the time he was done training, Yuuri has to fight a slight grin. Ballet class with Yurio was next and, maybe, if the boy wasn’t in a bad mood, they’d make it through without trouble for once and Yuuri would be able to sit down and video chat with Eunho for once.

 

_ Aaand _ , there it went.

 

He had to jinx it at the last moment.

 

(Thought, deep down, he knew that it would’ve happened anyway).

 

The class started normally. The russian skater was a bit upset at not being able to do any “cool” jumps during his performance for the final show but he did as he was told and, soon enough, Lilia left with a short smile (that looked more like a grimace but was meant as a sign of approval) and a quick nod in Yuuri’s direction.

 

The very moment she left, Yurio turned to him, eyes wide open in expectation and the biggest grin he has ever seen on anyone, and asked (more like demanded) Yuuri to show him a new move, one that the older boy recognized from his own performance at the worlds.

 

For a moment, Yuuri debated telling him ‘no’. That particular step wasn’t just hard, it was risky; if Yurio rushed to try and do it all at once he could seriously damage his body and Mr. Feltsman would have Yuuri’s head for it. Still, he cracked under the boy’s determined gaze, figuring that he had, in fact, offered to be his teacher and that Yurio deserved a reward for his good behavior.

 

Once Yurio had gotten good enough at the first step and, somehow, managed to make Yuuri promise that he’d teach him how to do it on skates, another step followed, and another one, and another one, until Yuuri himself had to sit down to catch his breath. Yuri flashed him a quick grin and walked away to grab them dinner.

 

Yuuri would have told him to go shower and eat at a proper table with his coach but he was distracted by Eunho’s comments on his social media before he could. Besides, he was too tired to actually try and stop him.

 

(It’s not like he was in charge of sending him to bed or something.)

 

As if Yuuri had willed it into existence, Eunho’s image popped up on his screen, asking him if he was free to talk.

 

As much as Eunho’s “presence” hurt Yuuri in a certain way, there was so much love and pride that the hurt took a backseat. Yuuri still felt guilt, especially early on, every cuddle and happy moment he had with his friend when he came to visit made him remember that he shouldn’t be there, not with Yuuri; he should be living his life, in Korea, spending his only free days with his family and friends. 

 

The first time Eunho talked about going to Korea, after a training session, Yuuri had shut himself away, thankful for how Celestino would appear without a word to take over and let Yuuri have his own moment. He was proud, there was so much pride in how much Eunho was forging his path and venturing into the world but that also meant that Yuuri was going to lose his best friend. It was hard, and Yuuri had partly hated himself because of how much he needed Eunho in his life, how much he relied on having this person look after him and fill him with love and happiness. It ate at him in the darker days.

 

The first time Eunho came to visit back in the States filled Yuuri with pride because his friend was, not just being successful and happy, but also he hadn’t forgotten about him. He shared the news with Celestino, as he had previously with the major events in his life and he introduce him to Phichit.

 

He hesitated afterwards, wanting to share the moment with his parents but unsure of just how to reach out to anyone else. His mom and dad would be proud of him, for making friends and for having a good life, or so Yuuri believed they would. It was just hard to overcome that brief moment of fear about how everyone else would react. Yuuri didn’t want to believe that they would hold his need for isolation against him, but he did worry.

 

Truth be told, he hadn’t been in touch with his family and friends as much as he should’ve. Logically he knew that his schedule didn’t help but he had shut himself from the world too: despite Phichit’s incentives, he barely used his social media; his emails were always short, even when Yuuri desperately wanted to let some things off his chest and he talked so little with Celestino about his personal life that the coach couldn’t reassure his family when they reached out to him.

 

A couple of years had passed by now and, as he speaks to Eunho, Yuuri marvels in the feeling of having his friend close by once more (or as close as possible). It was strange to think that he had isolated himself as much as he had, but he was getting better at staying connected to those who matter. Eunho helped him a lot when it came to that.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.


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